De Phenomenis in Orbe Lunae is a 1612 book by Collegio Romano philosophy professor Giulio Cesare la Galla that describes emission of light by a stone.[1][2] La Galla's inspiration came from Galileo's debate with Vincenzo Casciarolo regarding a "lapis solaris," a stone that emitted light seemingly on its own. In De Phenomenis, de Galla asserts that the stone was only able to emit light after the stone itself had calcified. It released "a certain quantity of fire and light" that it had absorbed, just as water would be absorbed by a sponge.[3]
Robert Burton discusses De Phenomenis in The Anatomy of Melancholy.[4]
References
- ^ Yen, William M.; Weber, Marvin J. (2004-06-22). Inorganic Phosphors: Compositions, Preparation and Optical Properties. CRC Press. p. 447. ISBN 978-0-203-50632-5.
- ^ Kopal, Zdenek (2013-06-29). An Introduction to the Study of the Moon. Springer Science+Business Media. ISBN 978-94-011-7545-6.
- ^ Roda, Aldo (2010). Chemiluminescence and Bioluminescence: Past, Present and Future. Royal Society of Chemistry.
- ^ Burton, Robert (1857) [1621]. The Anatomy of Melancholy. London: William Tegg. p. 324.