LYSO Pixels Raw and Faceted Loose Gems Blue Fluorescent Scintillator

These are loose scintillator pixels of LYSO (Lutetium Yttrium Oxyorthosilicate) which were made for PET scanners but didn't end up meeting the cut.  Some are full prisms measuring 20x4x4mm, some are partial (either broken pixels or pixels that caught the edge of the crystal and show some of the rounded crystal face).  We have also had some faceted as long pixel gems which are very bright and beautiful!

LYSO is a very unusual crystal grown for use in science and industry.  It has a clear base and very strong blue fluorescence. It glows incredibly bright under UV light as well as higher energy radiation, and because of this it can be used to detect invisible gamma rays, xrays and even alpha rays. This type of LYSO has been optimized for ultra strong fluorescence with no afterglow (it does not glow in the dark, only with UV exposure). Its fluorescence is so strong it has a striking blue glow in sunlight--this effectively gives it a color change effect, since it looks colorless under room lighting and light purple-blue outdoors. It has a very interesting and unique look which you can't find anywhere else.

Asianometry on youtube recently made a cool video about this material which you can watch here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpYYGiUX0x0

LYSO is not very hard at around 5.8, just under tanzanite, and as such is not a good choice for a ring, though it would be great in a pendant or earrings.