Disclaimer:

Reprinted by permission of Dick Berg, University of Maryland, for use on this website.

The demonstrations contained and referenced herein are listed for the purposes of cataloging and describing physics demonstrations which should be conducted only under the direction of a trained instructional support professional or physicist. These demonstrations are not presented for the purpose of being conducted by persons unconnected to this Facility and/or persons not consulting with or being supervised by the recognized instructional support professional or physicist and his/her staff. The University is responsible only for those demonstrations carried out using its own equipment using established safety and scheduling policies, and bears no responsibility for those choosing to use this source material for their own purposes. All demonstrations described and contained herein are public domain, and can also be found in reference materials in libraries, bookstores, and electronic sources.

Further information regarding legal liability in use of demonstrations and labs will be found on the web site Injuries in School/College Laboratories in USA.

The University of Iowa Disclaimers:  University of Iowa Disclaimer All Rights Reserved..

The LED lights come in different colors.  You can show that the black light material will not be activated unless you have light with wavelengths approaching the ultraviolet.  Even a laser pointer will not activate the black light material. 

Lay out the desired black light materials.  Activate with the black light wand, shut off the lights and observe the luminescent glow.

The key chain light is actually an ultraviolet LED.  This may be used to write names or illuminate certain portions of the black light sheets and materials.

Tonic water contains quinine which will fluoresce under black light.

Light sticks contain fluorescent materials.  Place an un-activated light stick under the black light and observe. 

If you point a green laser pointer at a fluorescent orange object, the spot will be yellow.  You can go one step beyond this and shine the green laser pointer at a steep angle onto the glow doodler.  The spot on the glow doodler will be yellow, but the input, transmitted, and reflected beams will all be green.