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UV, UltravioletUV is the abbreviation for ultraviolet light. It is light whose frequency is so high that our eyes can not see it. Like a dog whistle that is at such a high frequency we can not hear it, yet it hurts the ears, UV light can hurt the eye. UV light is the light that burns the skin on a summer day. It is not blocked by the clouds. Ultraviolet light is the color of the crown chakra. Ultraviolet light has another quality. It excites the atoms in some compounds. They then relieve energy. These then glow, emit there own light. Such compounds are called fluorescent. In offices and homes ultraviolet lights is sent through glass tubes that are coated, on the inside with a fluorescent compound. These are what we call fluorescent tubes. They are the heart of fluorescent lights. Ultraviolet light is also known as black light. Special inks only show up under UV lights. The new money has a fluorescent strip. Most credit cards have fluorescent markings that show up only under ultraviolet light. Where is all of this going? We love stones and rocks. There are many that are fluorescent. Some very plain looking stones only show their unique beauty under ultraviolet light. A plain white stone not only turns red but glows under ultraviolet light. There is a very special beauty that is hidden. Even under a bright summer sun, with all of the ultraviolet light you will not see the glow of these fluorescent rocks. They must be in a dark area where the only light is ultraviolet. Ultraviolet is not just one frequency of light. Ultraviolet light consists of all of the frequencies between the visible spectrum, the light we can see, and x-rays. This is about three times as many frequencies as the visible spectrum. Visible light is from 700nm to 400nm, nm being nanometers. At the low end of the ultraviolet light spectrum are the long wave ultraviolet lights. These are frequencies around 368 nm lights. At the higher end, are the short wave ultraviolet lights at 256 nm. The shorter the wave, the closer we get to the X-ray light’s frequency, the more damaging the light can be. Some fluorescent stones show up only under short wave ultraviolet lights. Other fluorescent stones only glow with long wave ultraviolet light. There are some stones that need a very special ultraviolet light, with a very narrow spectrum. Like fluorescent stones, many people have qualities that are hidden from the world. Their unique qualities only glow forth in the eyes of a few people or the light of a special situation. In all other times they appear plain, ordinary or unattractive. One such light is called love. In the glow of your love another person will show their special qualities. Their hidden inner glow burst forth. Sometimes, everyone sees the glow others only you see it. We know teachers who are awkward and constrained. You see them and wonder how they can teach. Place them in a classroom full of children and these teachers become alive. You would think that these teachers should be on the stage, yet you know that they would freeze in front of adults. Drive to a cave or cavern, there are a number around Columbus Ohio. There is nothing very impressive. The ground does not foretell what you will see when you enter. When you go in there is a plain hole in the ground. Then, like when Dorothy opened the door and entered the Land of Oz, the world changes. In a limestone show cave you enter a wonderland. First a little background on caves. The cave itself, in general, forms in one of two ways. It either forms when the tectonic plates move, in other words there is a subterranean crack from an earthquake. The other way is as water flows under the surface and eats away the rock causing tunnels. We now have a nice plain hole in the Earth. Tunnels are through hard rock. The rock is not just any rock. It is limestone. Stone that was formed over millions of years by tiny sea creatures. Rain falls on the mountains or plains above these tunnels. The water filters down through the rock. As it does it dissolves some of the calcium carbonate, and other chemicals, forming carbonic acid. This weak acid emerges in the roof of the tunnel and then either drips off the ceiling or flows along the wall. Now the magic happens. As each drop releases some of the dissolved chemicals are left behind as crystals. If it was pure calcium carbonate, the resulting deposit would be clear or white. The colors come from other chemicals that hitchhiked with the carbonic acid, like red from iron. The results are beautiful stalactites, stalagmites and flowstone. Even before you notice the formations, in such a cave, you will notice the reflection from billions of minute crystals. Entire walls glimmer. Then there are fantastic formations. It is made even more amazing because the formations form so slowly. The formations grow at rates as low as an inch in a century. That term glow is not idle. A cave that still has water coming in, and people have not damaged too badly, is referred to as being alive. Like these caves most people have much more under the surface. We have all met people who talk slow and look, shall we say, unimpressive and yet are brilliant and fascinating. We have met beautiful people who are ugly inside and people whose looks are uninspiring but are beautiful inside. Often, like a fluorescent stone, it takes an outside stimulus to bring out the secret and mystical beauty that is hidden. Your inner light, your love and your understanding can bring out that which is hidden. People have much in common with caves and fluorescent minerals. That which is most beautiful often takes a long time to grow, is based on a flaw and is deep inside. When we look down deep inside and shine our light we often find an unexpected glow. Our light reflects off billions of shining crystals. Like finding a fluorescent stone the light being returned is brighter and more vivid than the light we shined. Our love is the fluorescent light that brings out the best, the secret, the mystic beauty in others.
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