Visitors to the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy, maybe soovercomewith emotion in the presence of great art that they sometimes experience fainting, hallucinations, and palpitations — a cluster of symptoms known as Stendhal Syndrome. But these feelings of intense wonder and awe are not just limited to famous paintings and sculptures.
An eerie glow where the waves break. A flash beneath our feet at the water's edge. Tiny dots of light on our skin. The balmy summer heat reminds us that it's beach-time, and those who linger after dark are often rewarded with visions of great delight. Glows of light. Flashes so bright.
Bioluminescence, or “living light”, has intrigued humans for thousands of years. Aristotle wrote about sparks in the sea, marvelling at how these fires were not extinguished by water.
Bioluminescence is light made within the bodies of organisms. This cool light — in both meanings of the word — gives off very little heat, and it's fascinating. The chemical reaction is similar in principle to that of a glow stick: two chemicals meet in the presence of oxygen, resulting in light. In organisms, these two substances are substrates generically known as luciferins and enzymes generically known as luciferases (both derive their names from the Latin lucifer: light-bearer).
Different colours of light are produced by changes in the polarisation and microclimate of the luciferins, as well as by mixing and matching with structurally different), which displays two rows of yellow-green lanterns along its body, plus two red lanterns on its head.
