Glow paint



Glow paint looks extremely cool, any makers out there use MPK's paints before I plunk down some coin and try it out? They seemed to have won a NASA prize for another one of their products last year...
Litroenergy is a patent pending designed light source material that emits light for 12 plus years- without electricity or sun exposure!Our development/design of long-life, self-luminous micro particles called Litrospheres (non-toxic) emit light continuously for 12 plus years (half-life point) without any exposure to a light or other energy (not effected by cold or heat). This extremely low cost material offers 24/7 light, which can be injection molded or added to paint. It is 5,000lb crush resistant, stable and constant light source (gives off no U.V. rays). It is designed to give off almost any color of light desired. Our goal is to mass produce this material and supply OEM's.
Litroenergy has potential to save billions of dollars in energy costs world-wide. Litroenergy surpasses all known available lighting options for cost/durability/reliability (12+ years) and safety. The uses are unlimited as the imagination; however we predict the safety aspects to be the front runner in application (light safety tape, lighted life rafts/flotation equipment, light safety markings/equipment, etc.). Supplemental light source will be second as the material is bright and one can read by it, if you have some Litroenergy lighting you will not need to always turn on a light source that requires electricity. The use of Litroenergy in toys, sports/camping equipment, bikes and novelty uses will be close in applications.
The fill rate of Litroenergy micro particles in plastic injection molding material or paint is about 20%. The cost to light up 8 ½ x 11 piece of plastic 1/8" thick is about .35 cents.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Jun 4, 2008 10:00 AM
Arts |
Permalink
| Comments (14)
| Email This |
| Digg this!
Recent Entries
- Googlephone Jailbreak - Remote access gained ...
- CircuitBoardsToGo.com
- The Death Trick automaton
- LED "Art Object" is the new LED throwie
- Submersed Songs: Fish that make music
- Learn about electronics: Relays 101
- Teach Make!
- Robotic fish
- Medical aesthetic footwear
- New soft circuit kits in the maker shed and massive soft electronics roundup
Comments
Oldest comments listed first.
| Posted by: Ken on June 4, 2008 at 11:45 AM |
Patent Pending? Has it been approved for safe use?
Reminds me of the Radium Girls
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radium_Girls
| Posted by: Dan on June 4, 2008 at 12:19 PM |
It looks like the products featured on the web page are your standard issue expose to light variety.
From the web page:
"Each time the item you have painted is exposed to light for fifteen minutes the item will Glow-In-The-Dark."
| Posted by: Michael on June 4, 2008 at 12:19 PM |
Yea, pretty sure these are radio active. Wouldn't stop me from buying them though...but maybe they shouldn't put kid's toys in the list of things to paint.
They seem to be carefully devoid of details on the website; common folk generally freak when they hear the word radiation.
| Posted by: on June 4, 2008 at 12:37 PM |
the paint they are selling doesn't actually use that technology. it must be exposed to light for 15 minutes to work.
| Posted by: on June 4, 2008 at 12:48 PM |
Litroenergy appears to be powered by tritium, which certainly is radioactive, albeit very mildly. It's encapsulated so it can't escape.
Now, without researching further, I seem to recall the EU allowing tritium for a lot of consumer glow products, but you had troubles trying to import them into the US. I don't know what the rules are for domestic products, but encapsulated tritium is definitely used in exit signs and watch faces.
The site is confusing as to whether the paint is using litroenergy or not.
| Posted by: bob on June 4, 2008 at 1:54 PM |
.35 cents?
Is that about one third of a cent, or about one third of a dollar?
| Posted by: tom on June 4, 2008 at 2:14 PM |
i cant imagine its very bright. id like to see this in real life in order to judge how bright it glows.
| Posted by: brayra on June 4, 2008 at 2:48 PM |
From looking at the pictures on their web page. All of the colors of the powder are not real images. They are Photoshoped color layers of the same pile of powder. It has the exact same dimensions in each pictures. Not easy to do when pouring powder, I would think.
| Posted by: grobbins on June 4, 2008 at 3:36 PM |
If anybody here lives in portland, you can see this stuff in action on the skyline. The Bank of America building downtown that uses Litroenergy stuff around its roof. It looks a bit like they put a green neon tube all the way around the top of the building. Its ugly, but also bright.
| Posted by: Volkemon on June 4, 2008 at 5:55 PM |
http://www.createthefuturecontest.com/pages/view/entriesdetail.html?entryID=567
Here's their link for it.
| Posted by: on June 4, 2008 at 9:44 PM |
Litroenergy is tritium microencapsulated in a phosphor-containing matrix -- I'd be curious to know what the exposure rate is when working with it, particularly in fine powder form.
As previously noted, tritium is restricted here in the US -- I'd be very curious to see if you could get on an airplane with some of this stuff in your carry-on.
| Posted by: Thuli on June 5, 2008 at 4:27 AM |
He hasn't 'made' anything. It's an imaginary product dreamed up to win a 'create the future' fantasy prize. And Make just got suckered into promoting regular glow paint for this guy.
Skepticism is a virtue people.
| Posted by: on June 5, 2008 at 4:50 AM |
They are just reselling the glow products. I have been dealing with this place for a while: http://www.readysetglo.com/
It looks like they even took the pictures from the site. The pigments work great. I have cast it in clear epoxy shapes and they still glow a little in the morning.
| Posted by: Lord GOD TOG on July 29, 2008 at 6:24 PM |
I bought the sample pack of all 8 colors, and it is no better then any other glow paint, if you are looking for something that is bright, don't buy this stuff. I wrote to them asking if I did something wrong? I expose it to light for 15 mins and at first it's bright, but after about 20mins it almost goes dead. they said that the room needs to be really dark to see the glow! I said what? I thought this stuff was the brights and the best? why do I need a room that is so dark?..
I don't know but I do know I'm out $60.00 and have a hand full of magic beans. ;)
Leave a comment
Subscribe to MAKE Magazine!
Subscribe today, save 42% and get web access to MAKE free. MAKE Digital Edition is available only to subscribers.
$34.95 / 1 year
(4 Quarterly Issues)
Features and more @ MAKE!

Stop by the Maker Shed store and check out THE place for open source hardware, Arduino & Arduino accessories, electronic kits, science kits, smart stuff for kids, back issues of MAKE & CRAFT, box sets, books, robots, kits from Japan and more.
Add MAKE to iGoogle - GoogleGoogle.
Add MAKE to your RSS reader - Real simple.
Add MAKE on Twitter.
Add MAKE on FriendFeed & the MAKE room.

Why advertise on MAKE?
Read what folks are saying about us!
Click here to advertise on MAKE!
Makezine authors!
Phillip Torrone
Senior Editor
Tel: 707-827-7311
Twitter / AIM
Gareth Branwyn
Jonah Brucker-Cohen
Collin Cunningham
Marc de Vinck
Kip Kay
Luke Iseman
Patti Schiendelman
Becky Stern
Mike Dixon
Peter Horvath(intern)


