Because 90 percent of the energy consumed becomes light and very little of it is turned into heat, fireflies produce a "cold light" that doesn't burn. It could be called "low-heat oxidation," differing greatly from most forms of oxidation which create great amounts of heat.
由於發光過程中百分之九十的能量是耗在光能上，只有極少的部分轉為熱能，因此螢火蟲發出的是不灼人的「冷光」，可以說是一種「低溫氧化」，不似一般氧化作用會產生高熱。