Mikie_T Posted March 23, 2023 Report Share Posted March 23, 2023 I have been wondering lately about where the glass came from for the marble makers to get the "UV" reactive marbles. I have a friend that collects bottles and he has MANY that glow when you shine a UV light on them. SO..... (A) Weren't most marbles made from glass that was discarded by the public already in the form of a bottle or jar? (B) Doesn't this glass have uranium in it?....(radioactive)...... AND why was this done? (C) What spectrum of UV light is needed to see the glow? I just ordered a UV light that shines a "395" spectrum light..... Did I mess up? My friend has a "365" spectrum light and it shows a glow like crazy! Help me understand this a little better..... Thanks everyone! 😀 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ric Posted March 23, 2023 Report Share Posted March 23, 2023 A) Many of the early manufacturers had their own glass recipes and made batches from scratch - they didn't use cullet. BB) Very small quantities of uranium were used as a colorant (yellow-green) and uranium glass objects do emit very low levels of radiation. C) This is a very complex topic but here is a general idea . . . Different substances in glass can fluoresce and each responds maximally to UV of a specific wavelength and emits certain wavelengths of visible light in response. The UV lights sold for consumer use emit light in the very upper part of the UV range. Lower wavelengths can be dangerous. The spectrum of UV different lights emit can vary depending on the source, e.g., fluorescent vs LED. The intensity of the UV emitted by different sources can also vary. Together, this is why some lights produce more of a UV "pop" on a given marble than others. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikie_T Posted March 23, 2023 Author Report Share Posted March 23, 2023 SO… do the Akros that shine so bright have uranium in the glass? (I have one Akro…. burnt ox blood …… that glows like a torch under UV!) I guess I was under the impression that thrown away glass was used mostly. What time in history did the marble makers actually make their own glass? I’m sure CAC and MFC made some glass…. Right? others????? Thanks for the great answers! Mike 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Posted March 23, 2023 Report Share Posted March 23, 2023 I'll note that these days I'm seeing a LOT of people putting UV light on everything thinking that its some kind of Magic ID proof of something - and mistaking 'REFLECTED' UV light for 'reactive' glass. Most don't want to be told that they are mistaken. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ric Posted March 23, 2023 Report Share Posted March 23, 2023 5 hours ago, Mikie_T said: SO… do the Akros that shine so bright have uranium in the glass? (I have one Akro…. burnt ox blood …… that glows like a torch under UV!) I guess I was under the impression that thrown away glass was used mostly. What time in history did the marble makers actually make their own glass? I’m sure CAC and MFC made some glass…. Right? others????? Thanks for the great answers! Mike Navarre, Barberton, et. al, MFC, CAC, Akro, Peltier, Ravenswood, Alley, I think Vitro, and maybe others made their own glass in the early years, mostly up to the early-mid 40s (WWII era). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikie_T Posted March 23, 2023 Author Report Share Posted March 23, 2023 I got the UV light on some of my marbles..... Here is the result: This first batch looks like it is ON FIRE!!!! Incandescent light.... Under UV..... Batch #2, Incandescent...... Under UV..... NOW.... check out what it looks like on the inside of the blue one in batch #3...... Incandescent...... Under UV...... This is just plain FUN! I noticed that out of a big pile of marbles, only a few will "light up"..... AND, some of the inside swirls or patches are the only thing that will glow. Some glow green, red or orange inside the blue glass The others just lay there and stay dark. 😀 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ric Posted March 23, 2023 Report Share Posted March 23, 2023 11 minutes ago, Mikie_T said: This is just plain FUN! It's fun, for sure, and it can be useful for ID in some cases, but it is not too uncommon and almost every company made some marbles that glow in one way or another. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikie_T Posted March 23, 2023 Author Report Share Posted March 23, 2023 9 minutes ago, Ric said: It's fun, for sure, and it can be useful for ID in some cases, but it is not too uncommon and almost every company made some marbles that glow in one way or another. Yes.... I shined the UV on 2 bags of my Champions and they glow nicely too! 👍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ric Posted March 23, 2023 Report Share Posted March 23, 2023 1 minute ago, Mikie_T said: Yes.... I shined the UV on 2 bags of my Champions and they glow nicely too! 👍 Shine it on as bag of Jacksons and you'll see even more. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikie_T Posted March 23, 2023 Author Report Share Posted March 23, 2023 I have now read that manganese and uranium can make glass glow under UV light. SO.... it seems there can be 2 recipes for glowing mibs. Another question..... Early marble makers CAC and MFC made their own glass (Thanks Rick!).... SO, did they make any plain (non-glowing) glass or did most of their glass contain manganese or uranium? All this is so interesting! 👍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ric Posted March 23, 2023 Report Share Posted March 23, 2023 8 minutes ago, Mikie_T said: SO.... it seems there can be 2 recipes for glowing mibs . . . There are a number of different colorants that will fluoresce and, as I said earlier, what you see depends on the specific fluorophore, it's chemistry as interacts with other compounds, the wavelength and intensity of light you use to excite it, and how you perceive the visible wavelength of light it emits. And AFAIK not all of the glass that any particular company used fluoresces. I hope you have a strong background in chemistry and physics if you plan to go too far down into the fluorescence rabbit hole but, either way, I wish you well in your studies. 🙂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marbles_on_Mind Posted March 24, 2023 Report Share Posted March 24, 2023 Wife and I have a massive uranium glass collection. Don’t have much marbles though. Filling up an old atlas jar with ones I find. Lemonade Oxblood bottom right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikie_T Posted March 24, 2023 Author Report Share Posted March 24, 2023 14 hours ago, Ric said: There are a number of different colorants that will fluoresce and, as I said earlier, what you see depends on the specific fluorophore, it's chemistry as interacts with other compounds, the wavelength and intensity of light you use to excite it, and how you perceive the visible wavelength of light it emits. And AFAIK not all of the glass that any particular company used fluoresces. I hope you have a strong background in chemistry and physics if you plan to go too far down into the fluorescence rabbit hole but, either way, I wish you well in your studies. 🙂 LOL.... well, I have a tendency try to understand interesting things. BUT, my background in chemistry and physics is limited. I enjoy thinking in those areas but I couldn't get close to a doctorate degree....LOL. I have my head in the rabbit hole but that is as far as I have ventured at this point.....😀 I shined the UV light all over my house yesterday..... The result was so interesting .... Here is a group of marbles that have some interesting reflective features. Before the UV...... Now.... with the light applied...... Some show a base glass glow, some only have a shine on the inside glass..... FUN!!! 😀 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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