luminescence

[ loo-muh-nes-uhns ]

noun

1. the emission of light not caused by incandescence and occurring at a temperature below that of incandescent bodies.
2. the light produced by such an emission.

luminescence

/ ˌluːmɪˈnɛsəns /

noun

1. physics
   1. the emission of light at low temperatures by any process other than incandescence, such as phosphorescence or chemiluminescence
   2. the light emitted by such a process

luminescence

/ lo̅o̅′mə-nĕs′əns /

1. The emission of light as a result of the excitation of atoms by energy other than heat. Bioluminescence, fluorescence, and phosphorescence are examples of luminescence that can be produced by biological or chemical processes.
2. The light produced in this way.

Derived Forms

• ˌlumiˈnescent, adjective

Other Words From

• lu·mi·nes·cent adjective
• non·lu·mi·nes·cence noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of luminescence¹

First recorded in 1885–90; from Latin lūmin- ( lumen ) + -escence

Word History and Origins

Origin of luminescence¹

C19: from Latin lūmen light

Example Sentences

First, the researchers looked at the luminescence of the bands in the coral.

From Science Daily

The scientists used a technique called luminescence dating to work out the age of the star dune.

From BBC

Instead, Naka's team cooled the diamond crystal to cryogenic temperatures, obtaining nine peaks on the deep-ultraviolet absorption spectrum, compared to the usual four using luminescence.

From Science Daily

Post-separation, it was shown that the terminus-free closed toroidal structure led to higher energy and more efficient luminescence when compared to random coils.

From Science Daily

It involved engineering a small bioluminescent tag into the cells' proteins and documenting the change to the luminescence as the cell was exposed to molecules that activate GPCRs.

From Science Daily