This is one drop of 40% concentrated Fluorescein dye dropped into water with some bleach alkalinisation which enhances the fluorescence under long wave UV light.
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This was done in a vase shaped like a large spherical fish bowl. The image is, of course, upside down.
It is truly captivating how it grows stalks and buds in very slow motion. It looks like a growing thing and in real time is slower than here. I took 500 photos that night. The 70 frame animated gif below shows its growth.
Concentrated Fluorescein does not light up under UV so the initial drop is faint but increases in intensity as it dilutes.
The Fluorescein eventually diffuses into a green aurora like display.
Above left: This technique works best in water plus an alkali – a dash of bleach. I had originally tried tonic water (above right) which is blue under UV but it didn’t work well.
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Photo Date: September 3, 2012