When illuminated by ultraviolet light the glass shines an intense and stereotypically radioactive green.
Marbles that glow under black light.
Both green depression glass and vaseline glass will glow under a black light due to the uranium oxide content in the glass.
The marbles are perfectly safe to handle though because the uranium has been encased.
Scorpions glow in black light the emperor scorpion has a dark color on human naked eyes but when it is under the black light it become blue green colored.
The secret is the composition of the glass.
The glow light keeps the teeth from the disgusting yellowish color.
Then flip on the black light and be surprised.
Many vintage marbles were manufactured with uranium infused glass.
Why do some vintage marbles shine brilliantly and some simply react to the presence of the black light like any other glass.
Some people report that american brilliant cut glass also casts a yellow hue.
Next time you score a big batch of new marbles try to guess which ones will fluoresce and put them in a pile next to the rest.
Old burmese glass fluoresces a similar yellow green color.
The selling point wasn t the glow which is something enjoyed by modern collectors but much more subtle coloration.
This entry was posted on sunday march 14th 2010 at 5 37 am and is filed under marbles.
Some vintage marbles will glow under black light because they were made with a small quantity of uranium.