Yes, white chocolate can glow in the dark, though not like a lightbulb. It exhibits a soft glow under ultraviolet (UV) light, also known as a black light.
Understanding the Glow of White Chocolate
While white chocolate doesn't inherently glow brightly in darkness, it contains compounds that react to UV light. This causes a subtle luminescence, meaning it emits a soft glow when exposed to a black light.
How to Enhance the Glow
To make white chocolate glow more noticeably, you can add tonic water. Tonic water contains quinine, a substance that fluoresces strongly under UV light.
Here’s how you can enhance the glow, based on the provided reference:
- Melt White Chocolate: Prepare your white chocolate as usual.
- Add Tonic Water: Mix a small amount of tonic water into the melted chocolate.
- Use as desired: Dip items like Oreos in the mix.
- Enhance with UV light: Observe the glowing effect under blacklight.
White chocolate casts a soft glow on its own under a black light, but we gave it some extra oomph by mixing the melted chocolate with a little tonic water before dipping Oreos in the mixture, then pressing a plastic spider on each one. - October 21, 2016
Practical Insight:
The glow is a result of fluorescence, where substances absorb UV light and then re-emit it as visible light. This process gives white chocolate a gentle glow, which can be enhanced with the right additions.
Summary
| Property | Description |
|---|---|
| Natural Glow | White chocolate produces a soft glow under blacklight (UV light). |
| Enhanced Glow | Adding tonic water to white chocolate significantly increases the glowing effect. |
| Underlying Process | This effect results from fluorescent compounds in the white chocolate and tonic water. |
