Inner earth glows like in the movie Avatar
Can there be light below the surface of the Earth, without any exposure to the Sun? Surprisingly, the answer is YES. Bioluminescent organisms have the ability to glow almost like magic. Many organisms use their natural ability to produce light to trick predators, to attract mates and even to communicate. The word for this seemingly magical ability is called “bioluminescence,” which comes from “bio,” meaning life, and “lumin,” meaning light.
Most of these organisms, such as plankton, glow blue, but a few glow red, green, or orange. Some tiny animal plankton (zooplankton) are big enough to see with the unaided eye. Most bioluminescent zooplankton don’t glow in the dark themselves, but instead squirt globs of glowing chemicals into the water.
Some zooplankton use bioluminescence to attract a mate, or to form reproductive swarms. Not only is nature’s biochemistry fascinating, it can also be extremely beautiful, especially given the backdrop of a dark, misty cave. Glow worm is the common name for various groups of insect larvae and adult larviform females that glow through bioluminescence. They may sometimes resemble worms, but are actually insects. The glow they produce, through by a chemical reaction, is incredibly efficient; nearly 100% of the energy input is turned into light (Compare this to the best light-emitting diodes at just 24%). Australia and New Zealand have some of the most spectacular caves, where one can go on guided tours to witness this natural phenomenon up close. (see video below)
Why do some mushrooms emit light? Making light isn’t common in fungi; scientists have described about 100,000 fungal species, and only 75 glow. Lab work has shown that the glow did not happen randomly or by accident. Scientists found that these mushrooms made light mostly at night, so experiments were conducted to determine why. According to studies (referenced in the book), in dark environments, bioluminescent fruit bodies may be at an advantage by attracting insects and other arthropods that could help disperse their spores. Conditions that affect the growth of fungi, such as pH, light and temperature, have been found to influence bioluminescence, suggesting a link between metabolic activity and fungal bioluminescence.
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