The process of phosphorescence occurs in a manner similar to fluorescence, but with a much longer excited state lifetime. Fluorescence is the property of some atoms and molecules to absorb light at a particular wavelength and to subsequently emit light of longer wavelength after a brief interval, termed the fluorescence lifetime.
Generation of luminescence through excitation of a molecule by ultraviolet or visible light photons is a phenomenon termed photoluminescence, which is formally divided into two categories, fluorescence and phosphorescence, depending upon the electronic configuration of the excited state and the emission pathway. Molecular Expressions Microscopy Primer: Specialized Microscopy Techniques - Fluorescence - Basic Concepts in Fluorescenceįluorescence Microscopy Basic Concepts in Fluorescenceįluorescence is a member of the ubiquitous luminescence family of processes in which susceptible molecules emit light from electronically excited states created by either a physical (for example, absorption of light), mechanical (friction), or chemical mechanism.
