A Simple Luminophore

In Grojienhain in Saxony there lived in 1676 a certain official, who was educated, curious, and talented, by the name of Balduin,. .. a close acquaintance o/D. Friiben, at that time the doctor these two managed to discover the Spiritum mundi, in particular how they could capture it with a convenient magnet, and how they could use it. For this purpose they took chalk, dissolved it in Spiritu nitri, abstracted it ad siccitatem, and exposed the residue to the air, which then absorbed water. This they extracted, and they designated the water as a Spiritum mundi, of which a portion of 12 Gr. must suffice, and both high and low made use of it. 

This report is provided by Johannes Kunckel, groom of the chamber of the Elector of Saxony, in his Laboratorium Chymicum .  

As early as 1602 the shoemaker V. Casciaroli from Bologna had produced a luminophore, which became famous as Bologna phosphorus , by heating barium sulfate with flour to red heat. 

Quartz lamp (for UV with a nickel oxide filter to cut out visible light), spectroscope, darkroom, spatula, mortar and pestle, porcelain dish, protective gloves, safety glasses. 

If magnesium bromide is not available it can readily be prepared by shaking bromine water with magnesium powder until the color of the bromine has disappeared and the gas evolution has ceased (well-ventilated hood). The colorless filtrate is evaporated in a crystallising dish in a water bath until crystallisation commences, cooled, filtered and the crystals dried in an exsiccator over solid NaOH. 

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