fluorescence

noun

fluo·​res·​cence flu̇-ˈre-sᵊn(t)s 

flȯ-

: luminescence that is caused by the absorption of radiation at one wavelength followed by nearly immediate reradiation usually at a different wavelength and that ceases almost at once when the incident radiation stops

also : the radiation emitted compare phosphorescence

Synonyms

• blaze
• flare
• glare
• gleam
• glow
• illumination
• incandescence
• light
• luminescence
• radiance
• shine

Examples of fluorescence in a Sentence

studied the fluorescence of certain elements

Recent Examples on the Web

Unlike with fluorescence, this process does not need an external source of light. —Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 9 Jan. 2025

On a recent Saturday, at a bar in New York City’s Tribeca, a couple of hundred young sports fans in T-shirts and baseball caps ordered light beers served in tall glasses and shouted over a bellowing sound system under the confining fluorescence of 57 televisions. —Jack Sullivan, airmail.news, 6 Apr. 2024

The microscope records flashes of fluorescence when its laser hits active neurons, and the 3D video shows patterns that resemble green fireflies winking on and off in a summer night. —IEEE Spectrum, 30 May 2017

Later in the Archimedes Palimpsest project, researchers used x-ray fluorescence to bring out iron in the older ink. —Danny Robb, JSTOR Daily, 16 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

fluorspar + opalescence

First Known Use

1852, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

fluorescence

noun

flu·​o·​res·​cence

ˌflu̇(-ə)r-ˈes-ᵊn(t)s

: the giving off of radiation usually as visible light when exposed to radiation from another source (as ultraviolet light)

also : the radiation given off

Medical Definition

fluorescence

noun

flu·​o·​res·​cence -ˈes-ᵊn(t)s 

: luminescence that is caused by the absorption of radiation at one wavelength followed by nearly immediate reradiation usually at a different wavelength and that ceases almost immediately when the incident radiation stops

also : the radiation emitted

fluorescent

-ˈes-ᵊnt 

adjective

fluorescently adverb