Named from fluorspar, itself from Latin 'fluor' (flowing) — a mineral used as flux gave its name to a type of light emission.
Emitting light during exposure to radiation from an external source; vividly bright or colorful.
From 'fluorescence,' coined in 1852 by the Irish physicist George Stokes from 'fluorspar' (the mineral fluorite, calcium fluoride) + '-escence' (becoming). Fluorspar was named in the 16th century from Latin 'fluor' (a flowing), from 'fluere' (to flow), from PIE *bhleu- (to swell, to overflow), because the mineral was used as a flux — a substance that helps metals 'flow' together during smelting. The light-emitting property was first observed in fluorspar. Key
The element fluorine, the most reactive of all elements, gets its name from fluorite, which gets its name from its use as a flux, which gets its name from Latin 'fluere' (to flow). So the element that aggressively reacts with almost everything is named, at root, for the gentle act of flowing. The chain goes: flowing → flux → fluorspar → fluorine — four steps
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