Isabelle's Inquiry - Lifesavers

1.  Why do wintergreen mints spark in the dark?

2.  http://www.exploratorium.edu/cooking/candy/activity-lightning.html
http://kids.discovery.com/activities/science-experiments/light-up-lifesavers

• I learned that Wintergreen mints spark from electric fields.
• I learned you cause friction when you bite the mint.   
• I learned that lighting makes electric fields like the wintergreen mints.

3.  My hypothesis:  The chemicals in the mint make it spark in the dark.

4.

5.  I didn’t see any sparks. I might have seen it, but my eyes weren’t adjusted completely.

6.  My hypothesis was partly correct.  When you crunch on wintergreen candies, you are making light with friction. The scientific name for this process is triboluminescence, from the Greek word tribein, which means “to rub,” and the Latin word lumin, which means “light.” The mints and lighting both make electric fields.  You cause friction when you bite the mint.  There’s a special oil in this type of mint that makes ultraviolet light into a visible blue light.