Mineral products are the secret to colorful Christmas lights! Image by Angela King.
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Colored lights have been used as Christmas decorations for over one hundred years and billions of colorful Christmas lights are purchased every year. Each of these brightly colored bulbs is produced using a number of different minerals. The glass bulbs are made from quartz sand with small amounts of sodium carbonate, calcium oxide, magnesium oxide and aluminum oxide added. The metal fitting is often made of brass, an alloy of copper and zinc. The filament within the bulb is typically made of tungsten.
Colored lights are made by adding small amounts of special mineral materials to the glass or placing a thin mineral coating on the inside of the bulb. Yellow light can be produced using cadmium sulfide, ruby red from gold chloride, blue-violet from cobalt oxide, amethyst purple from manganese dioxide, violet from nickel oxide, yellow-amber from sulfur, and emerald green from chromic oxide. Fluorescent yellows and greens have been produced using uranium. These are just a few examples of the mineral materials that can be used to color the glass.
What causes the color in stained and colored glass?
Sources: USGS, cmog.org
Labels: Minerals
