phosphorescence
Americannoun
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the property of being luminous at temperatures below incandescence, as from slow oxidation in the case of phosphorus or after exposure to light or other radiation.
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a luminous appearance resulting from this.
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any luminous radiation emitted from a substance after the removal of the exciting agent.
noun
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physics
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a fluorescence that persists after the bombarding radiation producing it has stopped
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a fluorescence for which the average lifetime of the excited atoms is greater than 10 –8 seconds
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the light emitted in phosphorescence
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the emission of light during a chemical reaction, such as bioluminescence, in which insufficient heat is evolved to cause fluorescence Compare fluorescence
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of phosphorescence
First recorded in 1790–1800; phosphoresc(ent) + -ence
Explanation
Phosphorescence is when something glows with light without becoming hot to the touch, like the glow-in-the-dark stars on your bedroom ceiling. Special paint that you can see in the dark has the quality of phosphorescence, and in nature there are certain types of plankton that make moonlit water glow with phosphorescence. It's a scientific term that describes what happens when energy is emitted slowly from an object, appearing as light. It comes from the word phosphorus, a chemical element whose Latin meaning is "light-bringing."
Vocabulary lists containing phosphorescence
Novel Study: Lord of the Flies, Chapters 5–12
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Words with 15 or More Letters, List 3
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Impossible Creatures
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Phosphorescence is the de-excitation of a metastable state.
From Textbooks • Aug. 12, 2015
Phosphorescence 1st Kelpie— Sparkling and darkling, dust of the milky way, Shifting and drifting, firefly legions at play; Fading and glowing, lights of a starry maze, Coming and going, drift of a luminous haze.
From The Last West and Paolo's Virginia by Warren, G. B.
Phosphorescence becomes more intense, and most bodies of complex structure—milk, eggs, feathers, cotton, and flowers—become phosphorescent.
From The New Physics and Its Evolution by Poincaré, Lucien
Phosphorescence and fluorescence seem especially to result from the alpha and beta rays, particularly from the alpha rays, to which belongs the most important part of the total energy of the radiation.
From The New Physics and Its Evolution by Poincaré, Lucien
The third physical property of light, Phosphorescence, is the property possessed by certain gems and minerals of becoming phosphorescent on being rubbed, or on having their temperature raised by this or other means.
From The Chemistry, Properties and Tests of Precious Stones by Mastin, John
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
