As indicated by the authors of this book, fluorescent light and its applications represent the work of many minds and many hands extending over an interval of many years. The aim of the authors is to present a summary covering a wide range of applications of fluorescent light to meet the needs of a wide range of readers—professional scientists and those without technical training.
Of the eleven chapters the first four, comprising sixty-nine pages, may be considered introductory. These introductory chapters discuss (1) the historical aspects of luminescence (particularly fluorescence), (2) radiation, the eye and color perception, (3) classification of the various types of luminescence and methods of excitation (thermal, chemical, roentgen ray, frictional) and (4) theories of luminescence (the presence of traces of a material that is an "activator" of the substance).
Recently the public has shown a renewed interest in fluorescence, and the various information services are plied