system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
How does the chemical reaction in glow sticks work?
gpt
Well, firstly in terms of the history of glow sticks... Interestingly, it is probably the US Navy that was the first significant and major user of glow sticks (used as an underwater light source for divers)!

The US Navy had also invested money in the overall development of glow stick technology. 

As for how it works, there are 3 major chemicals: 

--------------------------------

Chemical 1: the liquid inside the glow stick. 

Chemical 2: the chemicals sealed inside the glass bubble, floating in the glowstick liquid. 

Chemical 3: Colored dyes. 

--------------------------------

So... when you break the glass bubble inside, chemicals #1 and #2 intermix, and a chemical-bonding reaction takes place. 

That chemical bonding reaction then releases energy. 

The energy then gets absorbed by chemical #3 (the dye molecules). 

The dye molecules then almost immediately settle back down to a less energetic state. 

--------------------------------

BUT... In order for the dye molecules to get less energetic, and more calm once again, they MUST somehow release some of that energy they absorbed from the chemical reaction. 

So the dye molecules release that excess energy as photons of light. 

Photons which then get emitted and hit your eye ball!