light stickn.
/ˈlʌɪt stɪk/, U.S. /ˈlaɪt ˌstɪk/ A flexible tube containing a fluorescent dye and two solutions which react together when mixed (by bending the tube and breaking a compartment containing one of the solutions) producing energy which activates the dye so that it emits light; = glow stick n. (b) at glow n. Additions.The dye is typically an anthracene derivative, activated by the reaction of hydrogen peroxide and a phenyl oxalate ester.
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1971 Hansard Commons 22 Jan. 366 What representations has he [sc. the Secretary of Trade and Industry] made to suitable firms in Great Britain about the desirability of manufacture of lightsticks, a cold light system based on the phenomenon of chemiluminescence, in view of its use as a source of emergency lighting.
1996 Market Trader & Shopkeeper 11 Oct. 19/1 Luminous glow necklaces and lightsticks for bonfires and firework displays and at any evening events.
2016 Rensselaer Polytechnic (Rensselaer Polytechnic Inst., N.Y.) 12 Oct. in University Wire (Nexis) (Concert review) 1 The crowd held light sticks and jumped up and down the majority of the time.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2021).
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n.1971