365nm OR 395nm UV LED Flashlight/ Lantern/ Torch - Check Your Rocks & Crystals!
Many minerals and crystals are fluorescent and can be checked for authenticity with a UV light of 365 nm or a 395 nm (nanometers). Just a few minerals and crystals that will show fluorescence under the correct lighting are as follows:
- Aragonite
- Smithsonite
- Fluorite
- Ruby
- Opal
- Calcite
- Baryte
- Corundum
- Bornite (365 nm light is recommended, but 395 nm will also work)
- Calcedony
- Amber
- Hyalite
- Scheelite
- Peacock Ore (365 nm light is recommended, but 395 nm will also work)
- Sodalite
- Scapolite
- Yooperlite stone (395 nm is recommended, but 365 nm will also work)
- Willemite
- Tugtupite
- Tremolite
- Selenite
- Apatite
There are many more stones that will show as bright orange, fluorescent yellow, fluorescent green, or even pink or blue under a 365 nm or a 395 nm black light.
We tested many flashlights before deciding which one to stock. This one is our favorite in terms of low-cost and low-maintenance.
- It does not use special batteries that will cost as much as the flashlight! Battery is included (It takes one AA/1.5 volt battery)
- It is made with sturdy construction and it's waterproof.
- It is affordable. Similar flashlights can run upwards of $50 - $500!
- It is compact and portable. If you're an actual rock-hounder, the last thing you want to do is to have to carry a bunch of heavy equipment into the woods. This lamp is tiny!
Works best if you use it in a dark room or at night outdoors.
It features a telescoping lens so you can concentrate the light in a small area or expand it to cover a larger area. You'd want it to luminate a smaller area which is more light-concentrated when checking one stone at a time. You can expand the light area when you go rock hounding to cover more real estate at one time.
It fits in the palm of your hand!
CAUTION: Do not shine light in eyes!
Nanometer definition, for those who do not know and need to know: It is a measure of length in the metric system. A nanometer is one billionth of a meter. An average human hair is about 60,000 nanometers thick. Nanometers are used to measure wavelengths of light and distances between atoms in molecules.
Light is measured by its wavelength in nanometers. It is usually characterized by the Greek symbol λ. Visible light is usually defined as having wavelengths in the range of 400–700 nanometers (nm), or one billionth of a meter.
