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UV thoughts


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Ok, this may have been discussed earlier but I think it’s worth discussing. Since October of 2023 I’ve really got bit by the marble bug. All the different and beautiful mixed colors, swirls, slags, corkscrew's, handmade and yes, lawn-chair beer-can marbles keep you looking in every out of the way places imaginable for that next jewel. The ones that I haven’t mentioned are the ones that GLOW. My question is, did the maker's of these little gems know that they would glow and transform to out of this world cool marbles when brought under UV light. Some of the marble that glow can be very old. You don't see advertising that says, “Look kids these glow under UV light.” Maybe I haven't been into this addiction long enough to know but am I just missing something. Tell me why the marble manufactures used UV glass. 

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Uranium glass existed before UV lights did so that's an interesting question.

My first thought without researching is to note that there is UV in sunlight, so maybe uranium gave glass a certain little something extra which could be appreciated in daylight?


Or maybe dayglow has nothing to do with it.  Maybe people just liked the yellow/green colors that uranium allowed them to produce.  



Pure speculation on my part.  My quick google search didn't tell me anything.  

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7 hours ago, Steph said:

Maybe people just liked the yellow/green colors that uranium allowed them to produce.

This is my understanding, and if you look at some good antique "uranium glass" in bright daylight, even without the sun, it does have a nice "glowing" quality to it.

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Steph is correct - no consumer had UV lights in the vintage days.  It was about the glass having just a bit of a different look in sunlight.  These were penny kids toys.  It wasn't rocket science.

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14 minutes ago, supramisfit said:

I've read that cadmium was added to glass to help it melt during the manufacturing process along with lead. So don't suck on your marbles folks😂

The way companies handled dangerous substances back then, it wouldn't surprise me if there was asbestos in there along with cocaine and snake oil 🤣

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Well the manufacturing process makes sense. Adding certain components to help in the process of making products is used across the board. I work in a chemical factory that produces polycarbonate. It starts with salt, water, and huge amounts of electricity. Kind of like silica (sand) and huge amounts of heat to produce glass. It would blow your mind to know the ingredients and the processes in the end results of some plastics. So the glow of certain marbles is a result of trying to find cheap, easy and convenient ways to produce a product. The GLOW is a pleasant and surprising result that is discovered under a relatively new tool, the UV light. I wonder what will be invented next that will allow us to discover unseen phenomenons of already made products. 

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17 hours ago, Steph said:

My first thought without researching is to note that there is UV in sunlight, so maybe uranium gave glass a certain little something extra which could be appreciated in daylight?

I am with Steph here.

Bright colors were always in production, why not brighter?

This was no sham or mistake, it was well thought out and produced for this very reason.

The glass makers alway tought this out regardless of the final product being it a plate, cup, saucer---- or marble.

The light was not so electric when these colors were introduced. Imagine the colors under gas light or other types of light.

Expand your mind to the good old days🌞.

Marble--On!!

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