Overthinking a plate of photons.
October 31, 2010 8:54 AM Subscribe
My son's costume (barrel of toxic waste) is covered with spray foam painted with glow-in-the-dark paint. What's the best way to charge it up ahead of time so it glows for a long time?
I'd like to charge it up for a couple of hours before he goes out trick-or-treating. I was told UV is the best way, so I have a black light but it's not very bright or big. Which of these combinations would work best:
1) Dark room with nothing but the black light.
2) Brightly lit room with the black light as well. Would the bright lights somehow "wash out" the UV from the black light or would the UV help "boost" the light?
3) Forget the black light and just keep it under bright lights for a couple of hours.
Mostly the glowing is for when he's going house-to-house as most people will have porch lights on and it won't be glowing when he's at their door. It might get a bit of a charge while he's there but I'd like it to glow nicely while he's walking around.
I know nothing about how glow-in-the-dark, UV, black lights, or pretty much anything works so it's possible I'm approaching this all wrong. If so, please tell me another way to approach it.
I'd like to charge it up for a couple of hours before he goes out trick-or-treating. I was told UV is the best way, so I have a black light but it's not very bright or big. Which of these combinations would work best:
1) Dark room with nothing but the black light.
2) Brightly lit room with the black light as well. Would the bright lights somehow "wash out" the UV from the black light or would the UV help "boost" the light?
3) Forget the black light and just keep it under bright lights for a couple of hours.
Mostly the glowing is for when he's going house-to-house as most people will have porch lights on and it won't be glowing when he's at their door. It might get a bit of a charge while he's there but I'd like it to glow nicely while he's walking around.
I know nothing about how glow-in-the-dark, UV, black lights, or pretty much anything works so it's possible I'm approaching this all wrong. If so, please tell me another way to approach it.
Best answer: I've spent a lot of time with phosphorescent materials at work lately. Here are some facts that may help you make your decision:
Ordinary light will not "wash out" the effects of ultraviolet light. It's just like shining a flashlight on a sunlit wall- the effects are additive. However, some glow powder doesn't really "care" about visible light. You can test this by just shining visible light on it and seeing if it glows.
UV usually charges glow powders faster and more effectively than visible light. The amount of the charge and the duration depend highly on the glow phosphor itself -- not so much the duration of lighting. There's no good way to tell other than testing.
You can get a pocket, battery operated UV light to charge his costume while out in the field. Just wave it over the glowy parts like a paint roller. Check for them at DJ stores, event supply centers, security/safety supply, and halloween supply stores. Get a fluorescent one if you can -- I've seen them from $10 to $100 in a cursory Google Search.
posted by fake at 9:09 AM on October 31, 2010 [1 favorite]
Ordinary light will not "wash out" the effects of ultraviolet light. It's just like shining a flashlight on a sunlit wall- the effects are additive. However, some glow powder doesn't really "care" about visible light. You can test this by just shining visible light on it and seeing if it glows.
UV usually charges glow powders faster and more effectively than visible light. The amount of the charge and the duration depend highly on the glow phosphor itself -- not so much the duration of lighting. There's no good way to tell other than testing.
You can get a pocket, battery operated UV light to charge his costume while out in the field. Just wave it over the glowy parts like a paint roller. Check for them at DJ stores, event supply centers, security/safety supply, and halloween supply stores. Get a fluorescent one if you can -- I've seen them from $10 to $100 in a cursory Google Search.
posted by fake at 9:09 AM on October 31, 2010 [1 favorite]
Best answer: A camera flash works well to charge glow in the dark stuff as well - if you're going out with him just snap the odd picture.
The bigger/brighter the flash the better, so if you have a flash unit for an SLR you could just carry that and use the "test" button.
posted by davey_darling at 9:18 AM on October 31, 2010 [3 favorites]
The bigger/brighter the flash the better, so if you have a flash unit for an SLR you could just carry that and use the "test" button.
posted by davey_darling at 9:18 AM on October 31, 2010 [3 favorites]
Best answer: Bring a digital camera and some extra batteries. Whenever his glow starts to fade, take a photo with the flash. No fancy equipment required, and you'll get tons of photos as a bonus. (Check ahead of time to make sure your camera flash recharges the glow -- I know I used to use a disposable camera as my glow-in-the-dark recharger, but I suppose it's possible that flash technologies have changed in the past 15 years.)
posted by pluckemin at 9:19 AM on October 31, 2010
posted by pluckemin at 9:19 AM on October 31, 2010
Is it sunshiny today? Sit it outside in the sun until it's time to wear it.
posted by Thorzdad at 9:30 AM on October 31, 2010
posted by Thorzdad at 9:30 AM on October 31, 2010
Don't use the goo inside the glowsticks. Even though it's non-toxic, the chemicals inside are separated by glass which gets broken. Also it's just a liquid, hardly something with adhesive qualities.
Why not just see how well a regular flashlight works on it, if you can't find a small portable black light?
posted by lizbunny at 12:41 PM on October 31, 2010
Why not just see how well a regular flashlight works on it, if you can't find a small portable black light?
posted by lizbunny at 12:41 PM on October 31, 2010
It doesn't matter if it's sunny, there's just as much ultraviolet light on a cloudy day. Putting it outside while the sun is up is going to be a lot stronger than any light you can shine on it otherwise. Once the sun goes down I'd put it in a normal, lit room, with the ultra violet light (although I suspect it's too small to really make much difference).
In happy news, glow-in-the-dark has come a long way, and I've been pretty impressed with the intensity of some glow stuff that I've gotten.
posted by anaelith at 2:22 PM on October 31, 2010
In happy news, glow-in-the-dark has come a long way, and I've been pretty impressed with the intensity of some glow stuff that I've gotten.
posted by anaelith at 2:22 PM on October 31, 2010
Blue laser. I had a lot of fun playing with mine this weekend.
posted by MrMoonPie at 4:37 PM on October 31, 2010
posted by MrMoonPie at 4:37 PM on October 31, 2010
Response by poster: Glow in the dark? More like Fail in the dark.
The costume was a hit but, sadly, the glow-in-the-dark paint didn't. Next time I'll find something better than the RustOleum paint I bought.
I did everything. I kept it by a bright sunny window for the afternoon, with a black light on it as it got dark. I tried the flash, I waved my flashlight on it, etc. It would glow dimly for about 20 seconds and then fade out.
Oh well. It looked good anyway. Thanks for the suggestions, everyone!
posted by bondcliff at 5:41 PM on October 31, 2010
The costume was a hit but, sadly, the glow-in-the-dark paint didn't. Next time I'll find something better than the RustOleum paint I bought.
I did everything. I kept it by a bright sunny window for the afternoon, with a black light on it as it got dark. I tried the flash, I waved my flashlight on it, etc. It would glow dimly for about 20 seconds and then fade out.
Oh well. It looked good anyway. Thanks for the suggestions, everyone!
posted by bondcliff at 5:41 PM on October 31, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by chicago2penn at 9:03 AM on October 31, 2010