chemiluminescence

American  

[kem-uh-loo-muh-nes-uhns] / ˌkɛm əˌlu məˈnɛs əns /

noun

1. (in chemical reactions) the emission of light by an atom or molecule that is in an excited state.

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chemiluminescence British  

/ ˌkɛmɪˌluːmɪˈnɛsəns /

noun

1. the phenomenon in which a chemical reaction leads to the emission of light without incandescence

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chemiluminescence Scientific  

/ kĕm′ə-lo̅o̅′mə-nĕs′əns /

1. The emission of light by a substance as a result of undergoing a chemical reaction that does not involve an increase in its temperature. Chemiluminescence usually occurs when a highly oxidized molecule, such as a peroxide, reacts with another molecule. The bond between the two oxygen atoms in a peroxide is relatively weak, and when it breaks the atoms must reorganize themselves, releasing energy in the form of light.

2. Compare bioluminescence

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Other Word Forms

• chemiluminescent adjective

Etymology

Origin of chemiluminescence

First recorded in 1900–05; chemi- + luminescence

Example Sentences

At present Dr. Rothemund is trying to "correlate the amount of energy dissipated by this radiation to the amount of chlorophyll decomposed, and the energy required to start the process of chemiluminescence."

From Time Magazine Archive

He studied chemical reactions by analyzing the faint infrared light emitted when molecules link up to form new substances, a phenomenon known as chemiluminescence.

From Time Magazine Archive

Speaker was Edmund Newton Harvey, professor of physiology at Princeton and authority on chemiluminescence for the National Research Council.*

From Time Magazine Archive

The magnesium or zinc salts of porphyrins also exhibit chemiluminescence when heated in the same manner.

From Time Magazine Archive