Vaseline Glass

[Les Slaback <lester.slaback@nist.gov>]

I was curious about Melissa's Vaseline Glass.

At http://www.southern-belle.com/vase1.shtml the following somewhat
garbled/amusing explanation can be found.....

Vaseline glass is a beautiful yellow - green glass that glows when you put
it in a room with a black light on                       it. It glows
because it contains about 2% uranium oxide. Under ultraviolet light,
vaseline glass emits high                       energy emissions of
electrons.The lights strong flow of electrons has an unsettling effect on
the unstable                       uranium atom.The electrons circling the
nucleus of the atom are pulled out of orbit towards the ultraviolet
              light and back again. The energy that is released is in the
form of yellow-green light characteristic of                       uranium.
There are other antique glasses that will glow under black light, but
vaseline glass is easily                       distinguished in by its
yellow -green glow and it is transparent.

Disclaimer:  the above are the personal musings of the author, and do not
represent any past, present, or future position of NIST, the U.S. government,
or anyone else who might think that they are in a position of authority. 
Lester Slaback, Jr.  [Lester.Slaback@NIST.GOV] 
NBSR Health Physics 
Center for Neutron Research 
NIST
100 Bureau Dr.  STOP 3543 
Gaithersburg, MD  20899-3543 
301 975-5810 voice
301 921-9847 fax
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