History

An early observation of fluorescence was described by Nicolas Monardes in 1565 in the infusion of a certain type of wood (Lignum nephriticum). The chemical compound responsible for this fluorescence is matlanine which is the oxidation product of one of the flavonoids found in this wood. In 1819 Edward D. Clarke and in 1822 Rene Just Hauy described fluorescence in florites, Sir David Brewster described the phenomenon for chlorophyll in 1833 and Sir John Herschel did the same for quinine in 1845.

George Gabriel Stokes named the phenomenon fluorescence in 1852. He chose the name "to denote the general appearance of a solution of sulphate of quinine and similar media". The name was derived from the mineral fluorite (calcium difluoride), some examples of which contain traces of divalent europium, which serves as the fluorescent activator to emit blue light. In a key experiment he used a prism to isolate ultraviolet radiation from sunlight and observed blue light emitted by a ethanol solution of quinine exposed by it.