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A light stick, or glow stick, is a plastic tube that glows a bright colour. They do not require an electrical power source, bulbs or batteries. Instead they create light using a chemical reaction.

To emit light, a source of energy must excite atoms in a material. When the atoms are excited, this causes electrons to rise to a higher energy level before returning to their normal level. When the electrons return to their normal level, they release photons, particles of light. The light stick uses a chemical reaction known as Chemicaluminesence to excite the atoms.

Inside the light stick, there need to be two chemicals that interact to release energy. The light stick must also contain a fluorescent dye to accept this energy and convert it into light. The specific chemicals used vary depending on how bright or long lasting the light stick is designed to be.

A typical commercial light stick would contain a hydrogen peroxide solution, a solution containing a phenyl oxalate ester and a fluorescent dye. The phenyl oxalate ester and dye solution fills the main body of the light stick. The hydrogen peroxide solution is contained in a small glass vial in the centre of the stick. When you bend the plastic stick, the glass vial is snapped open and the two substances are combined, beginning a chemical reaction that will create light.

The chemical reaction occurs in a number of stages. When the two solutions are combined, the hydrogen peroxide oxidises the phenyl oxalate ester. This creates a chemical called phenol and an unstable peroxyacid ester. The unstable pereoxyacid ester decomposes, resulting in additional phenol and a cyclic peroxy compound, which decomposes into carbon dioxide. This decomposition releases energy to the dye. The electrons in the dye atoms jump to a higher level, then fall back down, releasing energy in the form of light.

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