How does the glow sticks chemical reaction take place?
There are (4) components to typical glow sticks. The first is the plastic outer casing that holds everything together. The second is the fluid that you can see moving around in the plastic outer casing. The third is the glass capsule which floats freely in the fluid (second component), and the fourth is the fluid contained inside the glass capsule. Now that your aware of the (4) components that make up glow sticks you will learn how to activate one. To make glow sticks ‘glow’ you must bend the outer plastic casing enough such that the inner glass capsule breaks. Once it breaks the fluid inside the glass capsule comes out and mixes with the fluid outside the capsule, thus the chemical reaction that makes glow sticks ‘glow’ ensues. Typical glow sticks use a hydrogen peroxide solution (which is called the “activator”), a solution of phenyl oxalate ester and a fluorescent dye (which makes the color). The activator is stored in the glass capsule described above. When the glass capsule is br
