Degenhart Owl Depot - Owls That Glow

Why Do My Owls Glow?

In this section, we will cover what fluorescent elements make your owls glow. While every Degenhart owl is unique, something magical happens when you find one that glows under a black light. These particular owls are made with fluorescent elements and are known as fluorescent glass, ultraviolet glass, or simply UV glass. Fluorescence is caused by substances in the glass absorbing invisible ultraviolet light and then releasing the energy as visible light and heat.

Glass manufacturers include fluorescent materials in UV glass to create certain decorative colors. The type of ultraviolet light and the color of visible light is determined by its wavelength. The unit of measurement for light wavelengths is the nanometer (nm). Ultraviolet light is generally considered to be from 200nm to 400nm. Black lights come in both 395nm and 365nm wavelengths.

We highly recommend purchasing one with a 365nm wavelength, as they have the advantage of not emitting violet light, which can be a distraction and create a less intense glow. Most objects will fluoresce strongest under a 365nm black light. Below are two that we highly recommend that can be purchased through Amazon.

LUMENSHOOTER S3 365NM Black light: To view on Amazon please click here.

DARKBEAM UV 365NM Black light: To view on Amazon please click here.

Now that you know what black light to use, let's get into the reason why your owl glows below.

Cadmium & Selenium Degenhart Owls

(Glows yellow, orange and red)

When Cadmium sulfide is used in conjunction with Selenium or sulfur, it yields shades of yellow, red, and orange glass. This mixture causes it to fluoresce yellow, orange or red under UV light.

Cadmium Degenhart Owls

(Glows bright yellow)

Cadmium Sulphides are associated with making yellow glass and this causes it to glow yellow under UV light.

Manganese Degenhart Owls

(Glows a pale green)

Manganese is one of the oldest glass additives and was used in small quantities to de-colorize (remove the green tint from glass to make it clear) and in higher contents to colorize glass, such as purple glass. Manganese can be found in nearly all colors of glass, especially amethyst and turquoise-blue glass. Manganese fluoresces a pale green under 365nm UV light, often being confused with uranium. It always has a pale green glow compared to the vivid bright green glow of uranium glass.

Selenium Degenhart Owls

(Glows pale to bright pink)

Selenium is responsible for making glass pink and red, and when used together with Cadmium sulfide, an even more brilliant red was created known as Selenium Ruby. Selenium can be found in pink, red, and ruby-colored glass and fluoresces; some, but not all, glow an intense pink under UV light. Some Neodymium (Alexandrite glass) contains Selenium.

On its own, Neodymium is not UV-reactive. Some manufacturers added Selenium to their glass matrix, which resulted in the bright pink fluorescent glow under UV light seen more commonly in Neodymium glass. Neodymium glass has also been noted to fluoresce a vibrant to dull pink, pale green, or a peachy-orange color depending on the matrix of chemical additives and concentration of those chemical additives. Some pieces require 365 nm, while others fluoresce beautifully under a 395nm light.

Uranium Degenhart Owls

(Glows bright neon green)

Uranium glass is used as a blanket term for any glass containing uranium. It is characterized by the presence of uranium (oxide).

Vaseline glass (sometimes called Canary glass) - a term for transparent yellow to greenish yellow glass that gets its color from uranium dioxide, which was used as a glass colorant. Vaseline glass has a bright yellowish-green color in natural light and glows a vivid neon green under a black light. Vaseline glass is a recent term that probably dates from the 1950s. Uranium glass, an older and more general term, is sometimes used as a synonym for Vaseline glass, but this can lead to confusion because there are some types of glass colored with uranium. Canary glass is an even older name that was first used in the 1840s to describe what is now referred to as Vaseline glass.

Custard glass - an opaque off-white or cream-colored glass that contains uranium.

Burmese glass - a type of opaque-colored art glass that contains uranium, shading from yellow, blue or green to pink.

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