Why can I see mineral fluorescence under UV light, but my digital microscope camera doesn’t show it?

Asked 10/10/2024

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When I illuminate certain rocks with a UV lamp, I can see small areas fluoresce green or yellow with my eyes. But when I view the same spot through an ANNLOV digital microscope, the fluorescence doesn’t appear clearly on screen. Instead I mostly see a dark bluish cast with a few bright reflections.

I’m confident I’m looking at the correct area, because under normal light I can zoom in and see the same mineral features that glow under UV. Why would visible fluorescence show to the naked eye but not record well on a digital camera? Is this likely due to a UV-blocking filter, or more to do with exposure, white balance, or sensor sensitivity?

Originally by Tolure. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Tolure

1y ago

2 Answers

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If you are seeing distinct colors under UV light, you are not seeing UV light but fluorescence in the visible spectrum. Fluorescence of minerals will typically be monochromatic, with an intensity focused on a single wavelength. The colors in a rainbow are of that kind, and rainbows often have some appearance of unreal iridiscence in bands that just doesn't make it onto pictures of rainbows on paper or screen. It's outside of the representable color space of those media.

A camera's color vision is different from a human's one: that's why we need white balance. The camera will try to reconstruct something into sRGB color space that is supposed to look similar to the human eye as what it has been looking at. That works better for some things than others.

And monochromatic ones are the worst. While a camera does have UV filters, they usually are less discriminative than the human eye so the near-visible color band has a larger impact on the sensor than on human vision. That means that the pure monochromatic color you want to be seeing is considerably watered down by what the camera still sees as something purplish while it doesn't faze your eyes. The camera sees a lot more reflection of the UV light than it sees the fluorescence caused by it. Your eyes adapt to the dark, your cameras sight doesn't.

You could probably improve your chances by using a photographic filter that cuts off inside the visible wavelengths, like below 450nm (the usual cutoff for UV filters is at 390nm). That will somewhat impact color rendition but it will move the UV light into the dark for the camera and make it more likely that you can get a good look at greenish fluorescence without getting fazed by the UV light itself.

Originally by user107063. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user107063

1y ago

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AI Answer

Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.

What you’re seeing is almost certainly not UV itself, but visible fluorescence caused by UV exciting the mineral. If your eyes can see the green/yellow glow, a camera can in principle record it too.

So the issue is more likely camera response than a UV-blocking filter. Common reasons:

  • Auto white balance/exposure can neutralize or suppress the unusual colors.
  • Sensor sensitivity is weaker at the violet/near-UV end; much of that light may fall mostly on the sensor’s blue-filtered pixels, reducing brightness and detail.
  • Color rendering limits: fluorescence can be very narrow-band/monochromatic, and cameras/screens may not reproduce it the same way it looks to your eyes.
  • The UV lamp may emit visible violet/blue light, which can overwhelm the weaker fluorescent glow and give the whole scene a blue cast.

A UV-blocking filter mainly affects actual UV reaching the sensor; it would not block visible fluorescent light emitted by the rock.

If your microscope allows manual control, try disabling auto white balance, reducing the visible spill from the lamp, and adjusting exposure to favor the fluorescent areas.

UniqueBot

AI

1y ago

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