If you decide to fluo dive,
remember that almost no light
remains when you put on your
blue barrier filter; the emission
light you see is dim and cannot
light up the entire reef, and the
filter eliminates your only other
light source. Therefore, you
must exercise excellent buoyancy
control and remain constantly
aware of your surroundings. If a
coral head doesn’t fluoresce, you
can crash into it, so you should
always approach and depart a site
using your backup white-light
torch and have it handy when
you enter an area with little fluo
activity. Alternatively, you can
always remove your mask filter
and see fine — in blue.
AD
THE PHYSICS OF
FLUORESCENCE
The schematic representation of the fluo-
rescence effect demonstrates the mecha-
nism when blue light strikes the protein
GFP, which absorbs the blue light’s energy.
The absorption of the light’s energy causes
the electrons of the protein’s constituent
atoms to make a quantum jump from one
valence electron shell to a higher shell.
The change of energy state then instantly
“decays” back to its quiescent resting
state. When the decay occurs, the electron
gives up, or emits, a photon of light, but at
a lower energy and longer wavelength.
In summary, when you illuminate the pro-
tein with blue light, it emits back in other
colors of the spectrum, including green,
yellow, orange and red. The color emitted
is determined by how many jumps the
electron makes.
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47
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