lumen-, lumin-, lum- +

1. The emission of light by living organisms; also, the light so produced.
2. Creatures that emit bioluminescent light include: fireflies, glowworms, certain fish, jelly fish, planktons, fungi, and bacteria.

Such light occurs when a pigment (usually luciferin) is oxidized without giving off heat. Although it is believed that bioluminescence is involved in animal communication, its function in many organisms has yet to be understood.

Bioluminescence is a form of chemiluminescence and most luminescent animals have a light-producing organ (photophore).

This may contain their own specialized light-producing cells, or house symbiotic luminescent bacteria.

The darkness of the ocean presents a variety of bioluminescent creatures

The most expansive animal habitat on the earth lies between the sea surface and the floor of the deep ocean basins. Within this enormous space live the largest and perhaps most remarkable biological communities of fauna.

Most creatures of this twilight world are able to augment the scant sunlight reaching them with another form of natural illumination known as bioluminescence.

Although bioluminescence is a relatively rare phenomenon in terrestrial ecosystems, the vast majority of the animals that inhabit the upper kilometer of the ocean are capable of producing light with photophores in one way or another.

The illustrated bioluminescent fish for this page is similar to a "flashlight fish" which has headlights made up of sacs of luminescent bacteria under its eyes that light its way around the ocean depths.

Before man caught up with nature, she developed her own uses for bioluminescence; for example, many predators use their natural lighting to catch their meals; as shown in the image.

1. Emission of light accompanying a chemical reaction, as in the oxidation of phosphorus.
2. In physical chemistry, any process in which a chemical reaction produces visible light without a corresponding increase in temperature; for example, bioluminescence; such as the light generated by fireflies, is a form of chemiluminescence.

The Lord is my light.

Motto of Oxford University, Oxford, UK. This motto is also translated as, "The Lord, my illumination."

1. The emission of light by a phosphor or semiconductor that is excited by an electromagnetic field or from a high-frequency electric discharge.
2. The generation of light by applying electricity to a material; such as, a semiconductor or phosphor, a substance that can exhibit the phenomenon of fluorescence or phosphorescence.
3. The conversion of electrical energy into light energy which is produced without heat by passing an alternating current through a phosphorescent substance.
4. The non-thermal conversion of electrical energy into light in a liquid or solid substance.

The photon emission resulting from electron-hole recombination in a PN (positive, negative) junction is one example. This is the mechanism employed by the injection laser.

1. The radiation of light by tissue, caused by a galvanic electrical current.
2. Light emission which may occur when electrodes of certain metals; such as, aluminum or tantalum, are immersed in suitable electrolytes and the electric current is passed between them.

1. The intensity of light per unit of area on a surface exposed to light.
2. The amount of light, evaluated according to its capacity to produce visual stimulation, that reaches a unit of surface area during a unit of time. It is measured in lux (the SI unit of illumination, equal to one lumen per square meter).

A lumen is the unit of luminous flux in the International System, equal to the amount of light given out through a solid angle by a source of one candela intensity radiating equally in all directions.

One definition of candela that it is the SI unit of luminous intensity, symbol cd; it is equal to the luminous intensity in a given direction of a source that emits monochromatic radiation of frequency.

1. Giving off light or something that can serve as a source of light.
2. Anything that illuminates or produces light.

1. To make something visible or bright with light, or be lit up.
2. To decorate something with lights for a celebration.
3. To make something clear, or easier to ulnderstand and to appreciate.
4. To add colored letters, illustrations, and designs to a manuscript or the borders of a page.
5. To provide someone with knowledge or with intellectual or spiritual enlightenment.

1. Any one of various groups of people in history claiming to have received special religious or spiritual enlightenment.
2. Various societies, sects or other people claiming religious or intellectual enlightenment.
3. An alleged global, elite, secret society that has as its ultimate objective the subjugation of humanity (world domination or a New World Order).

1. Informative and enlightening, often by revealing or emphasizing facts that were previously obscure.
2. Providing new or useful information, so something becomes clearer and easier to understand.

An earlier name for kerosene.

1. The provision of light to make something visible or bright, or the fact of being lit up.
2. The amount or strength of light available in a place or for a purpose.
3. The application and distribution of light to a subject.
4. The process of clarifying or explaining something.
5. Intellectual or spiritual enlightenment.
6. A colored letter, design, or illustration decorating a manuscript or page, or the art or act of decorating written texts.
7. In medicine, throwing light on the body or a part or into a cavity for diagnostic purposes or lighting an object under a microscope.

1. To give light to; to provide or to brighten with light.
2. To make lighter or brighter: "They illumined the area with floodlights."

1. A psychotic state of exaltation in which one has delusions and hallucinations of communion with supernatural or exalted beings.
2. A belief system in which the adherents; such as, the Illuminati, believe that they have received special enlightenment.

In Thy light we shall see the light.

Also translated as, "In Thy light shall we see light." Motto of Columbia University, New York City, USA; the College of Great Falls, Great Falls, Montana, USA; and Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, Ohio, USA.