Phosphorescence

Description

A type of luminescence in which a material continues to emit light for a period after the removal of the exciting energy. Phosphorescence occurs naturally in fireflies. It also occurs in some inorganic solid materials called phosphors.

Synonyms and Related Terms

Phosphoreszenz (Deut.); phosphorescence (Fr.); fosforescenza (It.); fosforescentie (Ned.); fosforescencja (Pol.); fosforescência (Port.)

Authority

• Richard S. Lewis, Hawley's Condensed Chemical Dictionary, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 10th ed., 1993

• Hoechst Celanese Corporation, Dictionary of Fiber & Textile Technology (older version called Man-made Fiber and Textile Dictionary, 1965), Hoechst Celanese Corporation, Charlotte NC, 1990

• The American Heritage Dictionary or Encarta, via Microsoft Bookshelf 98, Microsoft Corp., 1998

• Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, at http://www.wikipedia.com Comment: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phosphorescence

• Book and Paper Group, Paper Conservation Catalog, AIC, 1984, 1989

• Art and Architecture Thesaurus Online, http://www.getty.edu/research/tools/vocabulary/aat/, J. Paul Getty Trust, Los Angeles, 2000