Flash Fun

WHAT TO DO

Put your hand in the box and lay it on the green material. Now push the black button on the right! Pull your hand away, what do you see? Grab a friend and put more than one hand in the box or put an object in the box. Play around. (If the black button doesnπt work, keep pushing it).

HOW IT WORKS

The green sheet lining the box is actually a phosphorescent material. Have you ever seen glow in the dark stars? They are made out of the same phosphorescent material. The atoms in the material store the energy from the light and then glow. The energy is released slowly, creating a glow that lasts for a while. When you pushed the black button, it set off a flash of light and that flash excited the pigments in the material and made them glow. The material underneath your hand however did not receive any light (because your hand was covering it), that is why your handprint appears dark and the rest of the material glows!