lumenina

Lumenina is a fictional luminescent mineral commonly referenced in science fiction and fantasy narratives. The name combines the Latin lumen, meaning light, with the -ina suffix often used for minerals, signaling its status as an ore or natural formation within imagined worlds. In many depictions, lumenina is a rare deposit that emits visible light without requiring external energy input.

It is frequently portrayed as persistently glowing at room temperature, with color and brightness influenced by crystal form or trace impurities. Authors describe lumenina as valuable for illumination, signaling, or energy generation, and as a resource whose extraction can influence economic and political dynamics within a setting. Variants of the concept sometimes assign it specialized properties, such as temperature stability, resistance to radiation, or the ability to store usable energy over time.

In speculative design and gaming contexts, lumenina is used as a thought experiment about persistent luminescence, phosphorescence, and the engineering challenges of luminescent materials. In popular culture, the term appears in role-playing games, video games, and fictional encyclopedias as a crafting material or plot device. The concept provides a flexible tool for exploring themes of resource scarcity, technological advancement, and the societal impact of rare, glow-producing substances.