Glowstone

Glowstone

Java Edition

Bedrock Edition

Renewable	Yes
Stackable	Yes (64)
Tool	Any tool
Blast resistance	0.3
Hardness	0.3
Luminous	Yes (15)
Transparent	Yes
Flammable	No
Catches fire from lava	No
Map color (Java)	2 SAND

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    "title": "Glowstone",
    "rows": [
        {
            "field": "Yes",
            "label": "(link to Renewable resource article, displayed as Renewable)"
        },
        {
            "field": "Yes (64)",
            "label": "Stackable"
        },
        {
            "field": "Any tool",
            "label": "Tool"
        },
        {
            "field": "0.3",
            "label": "(link to Explosion#Blast resistance article, displayed as Blast resistance)"
        },
        {
            "field": "0.3",
            "label": "(link to Breaking#Blocks by hardness article, displayed as Hardness)"
        },
        {
            "field": "Yes (15)",
            "label": "(link to Light article, displayed as Luminous)"
        },
        {
            "field": "Yes",
            "label": "(link to Opacity article, displayed as Transparent)"
        },
        {
            "field": "No",
            "label": "(link to Flammable article, displayed as Flammable)"
        },
        {
            "field": "No",
            "label": "Catches fire from (link to lava article, displayed as lava)"
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            "field": "<span style=\"display: inline-block; white-space: nowrap;\"><span style=\"display: inline-block; background-color:  rgb(247, 233, 163)\n; border: 1px solid #888; border-radius: 0.3em; width: 1em; height: 1em; vertical-align: -0.4em; margin-right: -0.1em\"><br></span>  2 SAND\n</span>",
            "label": "(link to Map color article, displayed as Map color) <small>((link to Java Edition article, displayed as Java))</small>"
        }
    ],
    "invimages": [
        "Glowstone",
        "Glowstone BE"
    ],
    "images": [
        "Glowstone.png",
        "Glowstone BE.png"
    ]
}

Glowstone is a light-emitting block that occurs in branching structures, found hanging from ceilings and overhangs in the Nether.

Obtaining

Breaking

If glowstone is broken using a tool with Silk Touch, the block drops itself. When a glowstone block is broken using any other tool, it drops 2–4 glowstone dust. If a tool with Fortune is used, it has a higher chance of dropping a large amount of glowstone dust—but never more than 4.

Block	Glowstone
Hardness	0.3
Breaking time (secs)
Default	0.45
Options
Haste	001 1JEBE

Legend

• drops nothing
• drops something other than the block itself
• drops the block itself
• italicized can be instant mined

Natural generation

A naturally occurring blob of glowstone in the underside of netherrack.

Glowstone only occurs naturally in the Nether, where it generates in crystalline blobs on the underside of ceilings or overhangs. They can be found in every Nether biome, although they are significantly rarer in soul sand valleys, because the ceiling of this biome is made of soul sand or soul soil below which glowstone blobs cannot generate. They can still occasionally generate in caves and canyons in this biome, because the ceiling is made of netherrack.

Glowstone can also generate as a part of hoglin stable bastion remnants.

Mob loot

Witches may drop glowstone dust, which can be crafted into glowstone.

Generated loot

Item	Structure	Container	Quantity	[hide]Chance
Java Edition and Bedrock Edition
Glowstone	Bastion Remnant	Hoglin stable chest	3–6	22.8% { "item": "Glowstone", "stacksize": "3–6", "chance": 0.22793887963348602, "structure": "Bastion Remnant", "container": "Hoglin stable chest" }

Crafting

Ingredients	[hide]Crafting recipe
Glowstone Dust

Trading

Villager	Probability		Villager wants	Player receives
	JE	BE
Journeyman Cleric	100%	100%	4 × Emerald	Glowstone

Wandering traders can sell glowstone for 2 emeralds.

Usage

Light source

Glowstone blocks emit a light level of 15, the brightest possible light level in the game. They emit the same amount of light as sea lanterns and jack o'lanterns.

Redstone circuits

			A
			B

A glowstone block can transmit power up, but not down. Lamp A is powered because the redstone signal travels up the glowstone block. Lamp B is off as the signal would have to go down the glowstone, which is not possible.

When placing redstone dust on a glowstone block, being a transparent block, signals can pass from one block to another diagonally. Redstone wire, even though it may appear to connect up the side of a glowstone block and to the wire portion on top, does not send a redstone signal down the glowstone block. This makes glowstone effective for vertical diodes, logic gate designs, and space-efficient instant vertical redstone.

Note that upside-down slabs can be used for the same purpose, and are easier to obtain.

Piston interactivity

Glowstone, like other pushable blocks, becomes a block of moving piston when moved by a piston; this momentarily stops it from giving off light.

Crafting ingredient

Name	Ingredients	[hide]Crafting recipe
Redstone Lamp	Redstone Dust + Glowstone
Respawn Anchor	Crying Obsidian + Glowstone

Note blocks

Glowstone can be placed under note blocks to produce pling sounds.

Respawn anchors

Glowstone is used to charge respawn anchors.

If a dispenser containing glowstone is facing a respawn anchor, it can automatically charge the respawn anchor when powered.

Transparent block

Mobs, in this case blazes, are able to choose glowstone blocks as their pathfinding target, as if they are normal solid blocks.

Glowstone blocks all sunlight, players and mobs suffocate inside it, mobs are able to pathfind to it, and it blocks a beacon beam, preventing the beacon's activation. However, like transparent blocks, it does not prevent the opening of chests, monsters (including slimes) cannot spawn on it, and it does not transfer a redstone signal. This behavior also occurs in sea lanterns.

Sounds

Java Edition:

[hide] v t e glass sound type
Sound	Subtitles	Source	Description	Resource location	Translation key	Volume	Pitch	Attenuation distance
	​Block broken	Blocks	Once the block has broken	block.glass.break	subtitles.block.generic.break​	1.0	0.8	16
	​Block placed	Blocks	When the block is placed	block.glass.place	subtitles.block.generic.place​	1.0	0.8	16
	​Block breaking	Blocks	While the block is in the process of being broken	block.glass.hit	subtitles.block.generic.hit​	0.25	0.5	16
	​Something falls on a block	Entity-Dependent	Falling on the block with fall damage	block.glass.fall	subtitles.block.generic.fall​	0.5	0.75	16
	​Footsteps	Entity-Dependent	Walking on the block	block.glass.step	subtitles.block.generic.footsteps​	0.15	1.0	16

Bedrock Edition:

[hide] v t e glass sound type
Sound	Source	Description	Resource location	Volume	Pitch
	Blocks	Once the block has broken	random.glass	1.0	0.8-1.0
	Blocks	When the block is placed	dig.stone	1.0	0.8-1.0
	Blocks	While the block is in the process of being broken	hit.stone	0.4	0.6
	Players	Falling on the block with fall damage	fall.stone	0.4	1.0
	Players	Walking on the block	step.stone	0.3	1.0
	Blocks	Jumping from the block	jump.stone	0.12	1.0
	Blocks	Falling on the block without fall damage	land.stone	0.22	1.0

Data values

ID

Java Edition:

Name	Identifier	Form	[hide]Translation key
Glowstone	glowstone	Block & Item	block.minecraft.glowstone

Bedrock Edition:

Name	Identifier	Numeric ID	Form	Item ID	[hide]Translation key
Glowstone	glowstone	89	Block & Giveable Item	Identical	tile.glowstone.name

Advancements

Icon	Advancement	In-game description	Actual requirements (if different)
	Not Quite "Nine" Lives	Charge a Respawn Anchor to the maximum	—

History

[hide]Java Edition Alpha
v1.2.0			preview				Added glowstone.
							Glowstone is shown to drop itself when mined.
			release				The crafting recipe for glowstone is 3×3 glowstone dust. [show]Recipe Ingredients [hide]Crafting recipe Glowstone Dust
							The drop rate of glowstone dust from mined glowstone is 1.
							The material type of glowstone is currently "glass".
[hide]Java Edition Beta
1.6.6							The crafting recipe of glowstone has changed to 2×2 glowstone dust.
							The drop rate of glowstone dust from mined glowstone has increased to 2–4.
							The material type of glowstone has changed to "stone", meaning a pickaxe is now needed to drop items, and block-dependent blocks can now be placed on it.
[hide]Java Edition
1.0.0			Beta 1.9 Prerelease 5				The texture of glowstone has changed, removing the border on the outside.
			RC1				The material type of glowstone has changed once again to "glass".
1.2.1			12w06a				Redstone can now be placed on glowstone. Redstone wire can now transmit only upward through it.
			12w07a				Glowstone is now used to craft redstone lamps.
1.3.1			12w21a				Priest villagers now sell 2–3 glowstone for 1 emerald, making glowstone renewable.
1.5			13w02a				In texture packs, glowstone now use /textures/blocks/lightgem.png.
1.7.2			13w41a				Glowstone can typically no longer be used to see through blocks.
1.8			14w02a				Trading has changed: cleric villagers now sell 1–3 glowstone for 1 emerald.
			14w05b				Mobs now suffocate inside of glowstone.
1.14			18w43a				The texture of glowstone has changed.
			18w47a				The texture of glowstone has changed again.
			19w05a				Added wandering traders, which sell glowstone.
			19w09a				Glowstone now makes a "pling" sound when placed under a note block.
			19w11a				Cleric villagers now sell glowstone for 4 emeralds.
1.16			20w12a				Glowstone is now used to craft and power up respawn anchors.
			20w13a				Dispensers can now charge respawn anchors with glowstone.
			20w16a				Glowstone now generates in bastion remnants chests.
[hide]Pocket Edition Alpha
v0.5.0							Added glowstone.
v0.9.0			build 1				Smooth lighting has been removed from glowstone.
v0.12.1			build 1				Glowstone can now be obtained by breaking it using the Silk Touch enchantment.
v0.13.0			build 1				Glowstone is now used to craft redstone lamps.
[hide]Pocket Edition
1.0.4			alpha 1.0.4.0				Glowstone is now sold by cleric villagers.
[hide]Bedrock Edition
1.10.0			beta 1.10.0.3				Glowstone is now sold by the new wandering trader.
							The texture of glowstone has changed.
1.11.0			beta 1.11.0.4				Trading has changed, and cleric villagers no longer sell glowstone.
1.13.0			beta 1.13.0.9				Glowstone now causes a note block to make a "pling" sound when placed under it.
1.16.0			beta 1.16.0.57				Glowstone is now used to craft and power up respawn anchors.
[hide]Legacy Console Edition
Xbox 360	Xbox One	PS3	PS4	PS Vita	Wii U	Switch
TU1	CU1	1.00	1.00	1.00	Patch 1	1.0.1	Added glowstone.
TU3							The texture of glowstone has changed, removing the border on the outside.
TU12							Glowstone is now used to craft redstone lamps.
TU14		1.04					Priest villagers now sell 2–3 glowstone for 1 emerald.
TU31	CU19	1.22	1.22	1.22	Patch 3		Trading has changed: cleric villagers now sell 1–3 glowstone for 1 emerald.
			1.90				The texture of glowstone has changed.
			1.91				Trading has changed, and cleric villagers no longer sell glowstone.
							Added wandering traders, which sell glowstone.
[hide]New Nintendo 3DS Edition
0.1.0							Added glowstone.

Data history

[hide]Java Edition
1.13			17w47a				Prior to The Flattening, this block's numeral ID was 89.

Issues

Issues relating to "Glowstone" are maintained on the bug tracker. Issues should be reported and viewed there.

Trivia

• Rarely, glowstone can be found touching the ground if the ceiling it was generated on was extremely low (2–3 blocks of clearance).
• Analyzing glowstone in a material reducer, it turns out to be a 1:1:1:1:1 mixture of argon, neon and krypton noble gases, boron and an unknown element.‌

Gallery

Screenshots

• 

  The melting power of glowstone.

• 

  Purchasing glowstone from a wandering trader.

• 

  A diode made using glowstone.

• 

  An example of the glowstone redstone results.

• 

  A small glowstone blob.

• 

  A large glowstone blob.

External links

• Block of the Week: Glowstone – Minecraft.net on April 20, 2018