luco-, luc-, luci-, lux, -lucence, -lucent +

1. Reflecting light; bright.
2. Casting back light; shining, gleaming, bright, refulgent.

Slightly clear; transmitting light in a slight degree.

May your light thus shine.

Motto of Buxton College, U.K.

Let there be light.

Motto of Tarkio College, Missouri, USA.

The sun shines for everyone.

In physics, a luminescent phenomenon that is produced in certain materials by high-frequency sound waves or phonons.

The emission of short bursts of light from imploding bubbles in a liquid when excited by sound.

A sonoluminescent result may, or may not occur, whenever a sound wave of sufficient intensity induces a gaseous cavity within a liquid to quickly collapse.

Having or being a speed less than that of light.

Having or being a speed greater than that of light.

1. Luminescence resulting from exposure to high temperature.
2. The phenomenon in which radiant energy absorbed by certain materials, such as lithium fluoride, is later released in the form of light when these materials are heated.

1. A phenomenon in which certain minerals release previously absorbed radiation when moderate heat is applied.
2. The glow or emission of light produced by the application of heat; used to monitor the radiation dose to which a substance has been exposed.
3. The production of light by a substance when its temperature is increased.

In archaeology, a method of dating by measuring the rate of release of light energy from an object; often used to establish the date when a pottery artifact was last heated in antiquity.

To shine a bright light through a body organ or cavity to detect diseases or other abnormalities. when pus or a lesion is present, the transmission of light is diminished or absent.

This test is most commonly performed on newborns or infants with hydrocephalus , or males suspected of having a hydrocele (accumulation of serus fluid in a saclike cavity). The test may also be performed on breast tissue to detect lesions and cysts . In newborns, a bright halogen light may be used to transilluminate the chest cavity if it is suspected they have a pneumothorax . Transillumination through the chest is only possible on small newborns.

Areas filled with air or fluid that is not native to that location have increased light transmission and transilluminate when they should not. For example, in a darkened room, a newborn infant's head can be seen to light up brightly when transilluminated if there is excess fluid present (suggesting hydrocephalus).

One of a range of new digital technologies that is helping to improve diagnostic techniques is the Difoti (digital imaging fiber optic transillumination). One application of the Difoti is with dentists when a wand is positioned above each tooth and as light passes through the enamel, any cavities or other irregularities alter the light pattern during transillumination and the information is captured by the wand’s sensor and transmitted to a display

1. Permitting light to pass through but diffusing it so that people, objects, etc., on the opposite side are not clearly visible: "The frosted window glass in the door is translucent but not transparent.
2. Easily understandable; lucid: "She gave us a translucent explanation."
3. Clear; transparent: "We could see that there was translucent seawater."
4. The action or fact of shining through.

Translucent materials which allow light to pass through them in a diffuse manner; that is, the material's translucency distorts the image.

Although transparency usually refers to visible light in common usage, it can actually refer to any type of radiation; for example, bodily flesh is transparent to X-rays, while bone is not.