UV Reactive Glass: Get in the Know about the Glow

Light up the night.

Long before dab rigs and heady bongs, UV glass was popular in American household items such as dishes and glassware. Then known as uranium or Vaseline glass, these glassware items appeared a transparent greenish-yellow in normal light due to the presence of uranium within the glass.

Uranium glass was very popular in 20th century America and upwards of four million uranium glass pieces were created between 1958 and 1978. Uranium use in the American glass industry was limited during parts of the Cold War. Since then, the demand for uranium glass has dropped exponentially.

How Does Ultraviolet Reactive Glass Work?

A special mixture of color is mixed into the glass rod, which reacts when black light is shone on the end result.  These glass rods are mixed into the glass pieces when worked by our glassblowers, and embed within the glass mixture.

The special chemical mixture shines bright when interacting with UV or blacklight, which gives it that awesome, radiant glow.

UV Glass in the smoking industry

The UV glass revival is taking place within the smoking industry as UV reactive glass has quickly become a popular type of glass used by glassblowers. Glass collectors have quickly caught on too, and many keep black lights at the dab station to add a heady element to their seshes.

Pieces made with UV reactive glass have a totally different appearance depending on the type of light illuminating the glass. Under regular light, Illuminati colored pieces have a transparent neon green appearance. Flick on a ultraviolet light though, and Illuminati pieces vividly glow. Lucy is another awesome UV reactive color, transforming from its standard clear appearance to a vibrant hot pink under UV lights.

These changes in color are a result of small amounts of uranium dioxide added to the glass in the melting process. There is only a trace amount of uranium in UV reactive glass, so it poses no health hazards.

While Glass Alchemy’s selection of UV reactive glass may be slim, they recently created a popular CFL color known as Serum. Serum has quickly become a “hype” color, skyrocketing prices and limiting orders to a 2lb maximum. Serum appears champagne-colored in natural light, and rose pink under CFLs (compact fluorescent lamps). Like pieces made with UV reactive colors, CFL reactive pieces have a totally different aesthetic depending on the type of light illuminating the glass.