Cold Light: Creatures, Discoveries, and Inventions That Glow

by Anita Sitarski

Overview

Luminescence sheds light on the adventure of science. Scientists and many others have explored the science and wonder of cold light—the chemistry of animals and things that make light but not heat. A seventeenth-century alchemist tried to turn a stone into gold. He failed, but the stone glowed in the dark instead. The alchemist began to mold the first luminescent objects. A light also came on one night for the famous chemist Robert Boyle. After he saw a raw chicken glowing in his kitchen, he began his own research into luminescence. With light humor, Anita Sitarski brings the thrill of discovery to life as she recounts the stories of the alchemist, chemist Robert Boyle, the adventurers who first saw bizarre creatures glowing in the depths of the sea, and others. Awe-inspiring, full-color photographs accompany the compelling, fact-filled text in these scientific explorations.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781590784686
Publisher:	Astra Publishing House
Publication date:	10/01/2007
Pages:	48
Product dimensions:	7.88(w) x 9.81(h) x 0.36(d)
Lexile:	1070L (what's this?)
Age Range:	9 - 12 Years

About the Author

Anita Sitarski has combined her loves of teaching and science in a career spanning more than twenty years. She has taught in the classroom and online, and as education director for a historic house-museum. She lives in the Finger Lakes region of New York State with her husband, Michael, and her son, Kevin. Cold Light is her first book.

Table of Contents

Introduction     5
How Can You Be So Cold?: The Stone That Captured the Sun     7
Back Off, I Need Some Air: The Chicken That Glowed in the Dark     11
What's in a Name?: The Inside Story of Fire Beetles and Glowing Mushrooms     16
They're Everywhere: Shedding Light on Bioluminescent Creatures     20
Don't Bother Me, I'm Busy: The Secret Lives of Glowing Sea Creatures     23
You Light Up My Life: Those Special Fireflies     28
Send In the Clones: New Frontiers in Bioluminescence Research     32
I Don't Need You Anymore: Jellyfish GFP and Beyond     37
New Kids on the Block: Man-Made Cool Light     41
Epilogue     44
To Learn More     45
Glossary     46
Index     47

Editorial Reviews

"With a bibliography that includes rich websites and even a place to purchase bioluminescent organisms for science projects, this should be a first purchase for school and public libraries supporting science-fair participants." —Kirkus Reviews

"Covering a topic of inherent interest to students, this accessible science title will inspire both personal reading and research." —Booklist

"I have rarely read a science book that explains complex concepts so thoroughly and that is such a pleasure to read as this one. . . . When reading this book I felt that the author was speaking to me, telling me a story that she found interesting and wanted me to understand. It was a pleasure to read!" —Library Media Connection

From the Publisher

Sitarski offers a well-organized and thorough introduction to light that is produced by something other than heat. In short chapters amply illustrated with color photographs, the author includes descriptions of photoluminescence, bioluminescence and chemiluminescence, the history of their discovery and a clear explanation of some of their new uses, including those made possible by recombinant DNA. She treats this complex subject with respect but also with a lighthearted tone and ample use of puns likely to appeal to the middle-school reader. While there have been a number of juvenile titles about bioluminescence, there is nothing else available at this level on photoluminescence, chemiluminescence or the general subject of cold light. With a bibliography that includes rich websites and even a place to purchase bioluminescent organisms for science projects, this should be a first purchase for school and public libraries supporting science-fair participants. (bibliography, glossary, index) (Nonfiction. 10-14)

Kirkus Reviews