[LIFE SAVER LIGHTNING (Triboluminescence Slow Motion) – Smarter Every Day] (Viewer #265,800)
Here’s what happens as the candy breaks:
areas of positive and negative charge are formed in the sugar crystal. When a high enough potential difference is created, electrons jump across the fractures in the crystal. They collide with nitrogen gas molecules in the air. In turn, these are excited to produce positively charged nitrogen ions, which produce a blue luminescence. Some ultraviolet is also produced, and causes the oil of wintergreen (methyl salicylate) to fluoresce with a particularly intense blue-light production.
No joke – yes I have. I heard about this when I was a kid. I think it was in a Lifesavers commercial. I chewed a whole roll (one at a time) in the bathroom at night with the lights off. I thought it was the coolest thing ever. Probably not the healthiest choice but whatever. To be fair all I saw was a blue spark, but I still thought it was pretty cool.