Scintillating and fluorescent fibers appear the same when they’re in an unenergized state, but they respond differently when exposed to high energy particles, UV or blue light. Scintillating fibers are made with fiber core doped with special materials to produce photons (light) in the visible range when high energy particles (such as gamma rays) pass through that core. Applications for scintillating fibers include:

• Calorimeters
• Cosmic ray telescopes
• Flow cells
• Neutron imaging
• Particle discrimination

Fluorescent fiber, although visually it looks the same to the human eye, does not absorb high energy particles such as gamma rays. These fibers are sometimes called "wavelength shifters" because they absorb short wavelength energy, such as ultraviolet or blue, and emit it in a longer wavelength region. The energy emitted is in a narrow-wavelength band, vivid and bright.

Optical fibers produce these brilliant colors from their optical fiber cores, which contain material selected to produce desired fluorescent and optical characteristics. Applications for these fibers include:

• Sights for rifles, shotguns and bows
• Earrings
• Art
• Clothing
• Decorative displays

This optical fiber is easily cut and can be finished like other plastic fiber. Standard stock items are listed below — available in red, green, amber and blue fluorescent colors. (Other colors, shapes and acrylic core materials are available upon special request, but those may entail tooling charges and minimum orders.)