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UV lights are needed to view our minerals and are the mainstay of the Fluorescent Mineral hobby. They are used in the field to collect these beautiful minerals, and at home to display them. UV lights are not only used by hobbyists to find these treasures but have been used by prospectors in the past to find minerals such as the fluorescent minerals uranium and scheelite - primary mineral ores used for many purposes.
Shopping for a light? Check out the
Fluorescent Mineral Light Review.
There are three types of mineral lights commonly used in our hobby: longwave (365nm LW UV flashlights or blacklight), midwave, and shortwave. Some lights have only one wavelength (shortwave usually), others have all three. Three shortwave lights are reviewed here from UV Systems, Way Too Cool and UV Tools, as they are the most popular lights used by serious enthusiasts. If you are not familiar with UV and UV lights you can learn more under the UV Topics pages.