What is the simplest way to explain the difference between the two?
In: Biology
so biofluorescence is like when a fish glows under a blacklight. it absorbs light and then sends out a different color. bioluminescence is more like a glowstick it makes its own light. both are cool but one needs a light to shine
Bioluminescence is the ability of living organisms to produce light through a chemical reaction.
Biofluorescence is a natural process where organisms absorb light and reemit it at a different wavelength, resulting in a glow.
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biofluorescence is like a glow stick that needs light to shine. bioluminescence is more like a firefly that makes its own light. both are cool though
biofluorescence is like a highlight from a blacklight at a party. bioluminescence is the glow stick you break to light up. both are dope in nature
biofluorescence is like a glowstick under blacklight. it absorbs light and then glows like a sweet neon sign. bioluminescence is like a firefly. it creates its own light your own little nightlight in nature. both are cool but one needs light to shine.
In physics terms, fluorescence is when a material absorbs light of a certain wavelength and then emits light at a different (almost always longer) wavelength.
We notice this the most when the emitted light is visible to the human eye but the absorbed light isn’t. E.g. you shine an ultraviolet lamp (a “blacklight”) on a white cotton t-shirt and it appears to glow.
Biofluorescence is just that when it happens in a living organism, e.g. scorpions fluoresce under UV light. You yourself are biofluorescent, or rather your teeth are.
Bioluminescence, on the other hand, is the actual production of light itself by a biological reaction. It’s not the same as fluorescence because it’s not necessary to absorb light to make it happen.
Believe it or not, humans and indeed all living organisms are bioluminescent, but in almost all species the light is too faint to see with human eyes.
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