Is it true that wintergreen life savers spark in the dark when you break them? Why is that?

Answer 1

I am not sure if it works with Wintergreen Lifesavers, but It does with Cert's Wintergreen lozenges.

Wintergreen sparking, it's believed, is actually a three-step process. Step One: When you shatter the sugar crystals with your teeth, electrons (which are negatively charged) break free. As a result, the atoms in which the electrons were formerly embedded become positively charged. In what amounts to a subatomic game of musical chairs, the free electrons dash around madly trying to find a new home.

Step Two: Meanwhile, as the sugar crystals disintegrate, nitrogen molecules from the air attach themselves to the fractured surfaces. When the free electrons strike the nitrogen molecules, they cause the latter to emit invisible ultraviolet radiation, along with a faint visible glow.

Step Three: The UV radiation is absorbed by the wintergreen flavoring, methyl salicylate. This then emits the fairly bright blue light you see. Pretty complicated, I admit. Clearly the planners in the Pentagon weren't the first to be obsessed with high-tech gimcracks.

I should point out that even without the wintergreen flavoring, virtually all crystal sugar candy, including peppermint Life Savers, will emit some visible light when crushed, although it's usually pretty faint. The effect was first described in 17th-century Italy, and since then it's been discussed in numerous papers and articles.

See the link below for more humorous details.

Answer 2

Yes, due to stress which sets off a chemical reaction.

Answer 3

It is true. I've tried it. But, I don't know the technical reason for it. I'm sure it has to do with chemistry & physics though.