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Not in an atomic aspect, I learned that fluorescence is the emission of light from substances until the source of light disappears (there is no emission in the dark), on the other hand, phosphorescence, due to a blocking of electrons on their way back to normal state, is the emission of light from substances even without any source (emission in the dark).

If it is so, then why do we call glowing objects in the dark as fluorescent?

Melanie Shebel
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Ndrina Limani
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1 Answers1

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If it is so, then why do we call glowing objects in the dark as fluoroscent?

I think this is just marketing: most people have heard the term fluorescence, while phosphorescence or luminescence are largely unknown terms.

While a delayed emission from a singlet state is possible, most glow-in-the-dark items do in fact show phosphorescence, i.e. emission from a tripet state.

Klaus-Dieter Warzecha
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