Why Wint-O-Green Lifesavers Spark in the Dark

They say that it's when you and your partner turn off the lights that you can see if there is a spark, and that is certainly true in the case of Wint -O-Green Lifesavers. This particular flavor Lifesaver contains an ingredient that combines with sugar to form a bond that releases a short burst of blue electric light when broken. While most people experiment with this trick by crushing them with their teeth in front of friends in the dark, the flash of light is a little easier to see if you crush them in the open using a hammer or pair of pliers. Let's take a quick look at the science behind the Wint-O-Green Lifesaver spark and where else in our daily world we can find similar phenomena.

One of the organic compounds in wintergreen lifesavers is called methyl salicytate. Methyl salicytate is a compound found in a variety of plants in the world, but is most regularly attributed to wintergreens. It is commonly used as antiseptic in mouthwash and has a number of laboratory applications. When methyl salicytate is mixed with sugar and dried, the compound builds up a small chemical charge of electricity. This mix of electrically charged sugar andmetyhly salicytate is present in every wintergreen Lifesaver, but the charge is completely stable so long as it is left in tact.

It is not until the compounds are disturbed by being crunched or crushed that the electrical charge is released in the form of a small flash of blue light. A true electrical charge, this flash of light is caused by what is known as triboluminescence. Tribolumiesence is a phenomenon in which light is produced by a special type of crystal bond being broken due to the sudden application of overwhelming force. The disturbance of the crystal bond releases the small electrical charge that was present in the bond. As strange as this phenomenon may sound, it is actually present in a number of seemingly mundane daily objects in our world.

Tribolumiescence can be discovered lying dormant in many objects in a normal works space. The Lifesavers sitting in a bowl at the receptionist's desk, for instance, are triboluminescent if they contain methyl salicytate . In the in box at every cubicle, many of the envelopes that are sent in the daily mail are sealed by adhesive that are attached by a triboluminescent bond and will glow momentarily if opened quickly in the dark. The diamond on a coworker's engagement ring is actually a triboluminescent bond that will give off a dull glow in the dark if rubbed very quickly. In the warehouse, ordinary cloth friction tape gives off a dull glow along the ends when pulled off of the roll. Even ordinary Scotch tape has been discovered to emit a small dose of triboluminescent X-rays when pulled off of the role, although they can only be observed during experiments performed in a vacuum.