Glow sticks are toys that children of all ages love. The gentle green light produced by the sticks can be really entertaining when playing in the dark. They are also used to light up things like carved pumpkins and Halloween costumes. Many children and teenagers are fascinated by the way the light is created. Snapping the stick to break the seal causes two chemicals to mix together that light up. The chemical reaction results in glowing light that generates almost no heat. A curious teenager decided to see what would happen when a glow stick was put into the microwave.
The teen had a glow stick that was already activated and sending out green light. The teenager then placed the glow stick in a microwave and turned the unit on for around 30 seconds. The microwave energy actually interacts with the chemicals in the glow stick. The result is that the stick starts to glow much brighter than normal for a short time. The teen was happy with the added brightness and took the glow stick out of the microwave. Just seconds later the differences in temperature and the expansion of the contents of the stick caused it to explode in his hand. Glowing green liquid covered the teenager’s face, hands and shirt.
His father came into the room screaming at him. The teen was crying in pain. The father did not know what to do and started dialing 911 until he decided to stop. The teen eventually got to a sink and started rinsing the liquid off as his father yelled at him. A 911 operator called back and the father said that everything was fine after a few minutes of washing away the chemicals.
