Science, Tech, Math › Science Glowing Radioactive Materials These Radioactive Materials Really Do Glow Share Flipboard Email Print Science Chemistry Basics Chemical Laws Molecules Periodic Table Projects & Experiments Scientific Method Biochemistry Physical Chemistry Medical Chemistry Chemistry In Everyday Life Famous Chemists Activities for Kids Abbreviations & Acronyms Biology Physics Geology Astronomy Weather & Climate By Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D. Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D. Facebook Twitter Chemistry Expert Ph.D., Biomedical Sciences, University of Tennessee at Knoxville B.A., Physics and Mathematics, Hastings College Dr. Helmenstine holds a Ph.D. in biomedical sciences and is a science writer, educator, and consultant. She has taught science courses at the high school, college, and graduate levels. Learn about our Editorial Process Updated on November 05, 2019 Most radioactive materials do not glow. However, there are some that do glow, like what you see in movies. Glowing Radioactive Plutonium Plutonium is highly pyrophoric. This plutonium sample is glowing because it is spontaneously burning as it comes into contact with air. Haschke, Allen, Morales (2000). "Surface and Corrosion Chemistry of Plutonium". Los Alamos Science. Plutonium is warm to the touch and also pyrophoric. Basically what this means is that is smolders or burns as it oxidizes in air. Glowing Radium Dial This is a glowing radium painted dial from the 1950s. Arma95, Creative Commons License Radium mixed with copper-doped zinc sulfide produces a paint that will glow in the dark. The radiation from the decaying radium excited electrons in the doped zinc sulfide to a higher energy level. When the electrons returned to the lower energy level, a visible photon was emitted. Glowing Radioactive Radon Gas This is not radon, but radon looks like this. Radon glows red in a gas discharge tube, though it is not used in tubes because of its radioactivity. This is xenon in a gas discharge tube, with the colors changed to show what radon would look like. Jurii, Creative Commons License This is a simulation of what radon gas might look like. Radon gas normally is colorless. As it is cooled toward its solid state it begins to glow with a bright phosphorescence. The phosphorescence starts out yellow and deepens to red as the temperature approaches that of liquid air. Glowing Cherenkov Radiation This is a photo of the Advanced Test Reactor glowing with Cherenkov radiation. Idaho National Labs/DOE Nuclear reactors display a characteristic blue glow because of Cherenkov radiation, which is a type of electromagnetic radiation that is emitted when a charged particle moves through a dielectric medium faster than the phase velocity of light. The molecules of the medium are polarized, emitting radiation as they return to their ground state. Glowing Radioactive Actinium Actinium is a radioactive silvery metal. Justin Urgitis Actinium is a radioactive element that glows pale blue in the dark. Glowing Radioactive Uranium Glass Have you ever wondered whether radioactive materials really do glow in the dark? This is a photo of uranium glass, which is a glass to which uranium was added as a colorant. Uranium glass fluoresces bright green under a black or ultraviolet light. Z Vesoulis, Creative Commons License Glowing Tritium Self Luminescent Tritium Night Sights The night sights on some guns and other weapons use radioactive tritium-based paint. The electrons emitted as the tritium decays interact with the phospor paint, producing a bright greenish light. Wiki Phantoms Cite this Article Format mla apa chicago Your Citation Helmenstine, Anne Marie, Ph.D. "Glowing Radioactive Materials." ThoughtCo, Aug. 25, 2020, thoughtco.com/glowing-radioactive-materials-4054185. Helmenstine, Anne Marie, Ph.D. (2020, August 25). Glowing Radioactive Materials. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/glowing-radioactive-materials-4054185 Helmenstine, Anne Marie, Ph.D. "Glowing Radioactive Materials." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/glowing-radioactive-materials-4054185 (accessed March 28, 2023). copy citation Featured Video