The glowing gherkin – Die Glühgurke (Video)
Why?
Is there any reason to glow a gherkin? Yes indeed! I wanted to find out, whether the glowing gherkin is a hoax or not and if it is not a joke why is it glowing? Why is it always glowing on on side only, but not always on the same side?
To keep it simple: the glowing gherkin is no hoax.
The characteristic redish-yellow light really is the atomic emission of sodium ions, you can change the color of the gherkin glow by applying potassium or lithium ions to the gherkin.
The electrodes get really hot! That fact fosters the hypothesis that the energy for the emission of light stems from spark discharge enabled by a combination of heat, forming gases, evaporation, solid plant material and conductive electrolyte (the juice).
