Phosphor

A phosphor is a material that emits light after absorbing energy from radiation or particles. The emission may be immediate or delayed, depending on the material and excitation.

Luminescence: Light emission from a substance that is not caused solely by its temperature. Phosphor emission is one form of luminescence.
Crystal lattice: A repeating three-dimensional arrangement of atoms or ions in a crystalline solid. The host lattice provides the structure in which many phosphors emit light.
Cathodoluminescence: Light emission produced when a material is excited by an electron beam. Cathodoluminescent phosphors convert electrons into visible light in display and imaging systems.
Incandescence: Light emitted by a body because of its high temperature. Unlike phosphor emission, incandescence is driven primarily by heat.
Phosphorus: A chemical element with symbol P and atomic number 15. Despite the shared name, elemental phosphorus is not what defines a phosphor.
Photoluminescence: Light emission caused by a material absorbing photons. It describes phosphors excited by light rather than by electrons or other particles.
Activator (phosphor): An impurity ion added to a phosphor host to create or modify its light emission. Activator ions often supply the electronic states responsible for a phosphor's characteristic color.
Scintillator: A material that emits flashes of light when struck by ionizing radiation. Scintillators are phosphor-like materials used to detect energetic particles and radiation.
Chemiluminescence: Light produced by a chemical reaction without requiring substantial heating. It produces light through reaction energy rather than absorbed radiation or particles.
Alchemist's phosphorus: An early name for substances that glowed in the dark after exposure to light. The historical term helped establish the name later used for light-emitting materials.

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