Brandon's Inquiry-Lifesavers

1.  What makes Wintergreen lifesavers spark in the dark?

2.  www.discoverykids.com  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triboluminescence

• I learned that is just a minature version of lightning
• Lightning is a stream of electricity that excites nitrogen molecules
• Wint-O-Green Life Savers is a very special substance that absorbs this ultraviolet

energy and transforms it into  visible light

3. Hypothesis: All the chemicals in the lifesaver make it spark.

4.

5. I saw one spark.

6. Lightning is a stream of electricity that excites nitrogen molecules. Electricity provides excited nitrogen molecules with extra energy, which the nitrogen molecules then release as visible light. When you crush sugar crystals with your teeth, the pieces become positively and negatively charged. When sugar crystals are squeezed, pressed, or crushed, they give off electricity called piezo-electricity.