Opals Glow in the Dark
Opals glow in the dark it seems according to Professor Lewis Chadderton from the Australian National University who explains that opals actually emit a radioactive glow that can be detected when using special instruments.
The radio activity is extremely mild but Professor Chadderton says the process will make it a lot easier to detect opals than the current method and researchers say it will dramatically improve the process of finding opals in the ground.
“In terms of time, it’s going to be a hundred to a thousand-fold quicker,” he said.
“I’m most optimistic about that aspect of it.”
Professor Chadderton says now that it is known how opals grow naturally, they will be able to be grown in a laboratory.
“We’re on the way to synthetic opal of extremely high quality,” he said. “Even to the extent that maybe your lady friend might demand, ‘I want one which is completely red fire or green fire or blue fire’ or so on.” He commented. “It’s extremely interesting.”
Opals are generally found underground in dangerous holes by the hit and miss digging method so this will improve the safety as well as the odds of locating opals.
The future looks bright for Opals that glow in the dark!