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Light source runs for 12 years without a recharge

December 16th 2007 18:00
Litrosphere light source on a bike
For a while, it seemed like glow-in-the-dark was going to rule the world... every second toy coming out of the factory had some kind of glow-in-the-dark component to it.

A company called MPK Co. is tearing the roof off the glow-in-the-dark sucka, with a new type of light-emitting paint called Litroenergy. It can be applied like paint and comes in a variety of colours.


The secret is that the paint contains these particles that give off light... they're non-toxic and nearly indestructible, according to the company.

From this wiki:

"The Litrospheres™ are not affected by heat or cold, and are 5,000-pound crush resistant. They can be injection molded or added to paint. The fill rate of Litroenergy micro particles in plastic injection molding material or paint is about 20%. The constant light gives off no U.V. rays, and can be designed to emit almost any color of light desired."

It sounds like world-changing technology.

It seems like it's a type of phosphorescence, a process where light is absorbed and reabsorbed later.

But that's not what people are suspecting... it's a lot more clever, and sounds a little dangerous. From the wiki:


"My best guess is that they are using tritium. Tritium is a radioactive isotope of hydrogen. It is an odorless, tasteless, colorless gas that reacts with the human body in the same manner as natural hydrogen. Beta rays from the tritium hit phosphors to create the glow you see. Tritium has a half-life of 12.5 years, which means that in that time the lamp will be half as bright as it originally was...

Beta particle radiation can cause skin burns and are most harmful when they enter the body (becoming small radioactive cancer causing bombs). They can be blocked by thin sheets of metal or plastic..

The intensity is not very strong. This is good enough for night illumination of rifle scopes, watches, and emergency signs but it is not going to come anywhere close to matching the light output of or replace electric light bulbs (incandescent, flourescent, LED, etc.) or kerosene lanterns.

Tritium illumination has been around for at least 25 years.

This is not a top 100 technology. "

Oh. Too bad...


*image is from this post
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Comments
2 Comments. [ Add A Comment ]

Comment by Anonymous

May 15th 2009 19:34
wow!
i just thort it was like a battery when it stopped glowing it ran out of energy when i was about 8
you know?
but
well
its on my watch
it helps when we dive to 200m
lol
not much light down there
and its good cause when it starts to fade well it means we have to go up pretty much

Comment by Edward king

May 15th 2009 19:40
wow!
i just thort it was like a battery when it stopped glowing it ran out of energy when i was about 8
you know?
but
well
its on my watch
it helps when we dive to 200m
lol
not much light down there
and its good cause when it starts to fade well it means we have to go up pretty much

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