When mixed with a material that contains even trace amounts of hydrogen peroxide, the powdery sensors turn bright yellow or red and light up. "You don't need anything to read the selective reaction other than your eye," said the chemist, Christopher Chang, an assistant professor at UC Berkeley's Department of Chemistry. "You could also use a hand-held black-light lamp to detect the fluorescence."
...the sensors could be manufactured in a variety of forms, including paper strips similar to the ones used to measure pH levels, the chemist said. Authorities testing for illicit substances could then simply dip the strip into the suspect liquid or gel and look for a color change.
press release | UC Berkeley
~I've been told that I phosfloresce under certain conditions.
Posted by Stubbornson at August 27, 2006 01:40 PM