To make glow in the dark paint, all you need is a highlighter and some cornstarch. First, open the end of a non-toxic highlighter with pliers, and pull the felt strip out from the center. Then, place the felt strip in a small bowl of water, and massage it with your fingers to release the ink. Once all the ink is out, mix the highlighter water with equal parts cornstarch to make the paint. Finally, use a paintbrush to apply the paint to a piece of paper or other surface. To see your paint glow in the dark, turn off all the lights and turn on a UV-A blacklight. To learn how to make glow in the dark paint with a highlighter and food coloring, keep reading! Show
Did this summary help you?YesNo Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 1,900,448 times. Glow-in-the-dark paint livens up any craft project and also teaches kids about fluorescence and phosphorescence. Using luminous zinc sulfide powder, you can mix up all different kinds of glow-in-the-dark paint, from water-based paint to fabric paint and from clear paint to colored paint. There are no harmful chemicals, and the paint will glow again and again. Advertisement Video of the Day How Glow-in-the-Dark Paint WorksLuminous zinc sulfide powder, otherwise known as glow powder, is a safe, nontoxic powder that absorbs light. When the lights go out, the powder emits the light it absorbed over time so that it glows. Glow powder can be charged with regular white light or ultraviolet light. When a surface that has been coated with glow powder is lit with an ultraviolet or "black" light, it will appear to glow even brighter. Advertisement Glow powder can be mixed with various substances, including paint, to make the paint glow in the dark. You can order luminous zinc sulfide powder through various online retailers. Water-Based Glow PaintWater-based glow-in-the-dark paint may be the simplest option, depending on your project. Light-colored craft or latex paint works best to mix with the glow powder. Darker colors will glow, but not as brightly. For children's crafts, light-colored washable paint may be used. Advertisement Supplies Plastic tablecloth Medium bowl Water-based paint Luminous zinc sulfide powder * Wooden paint stirrer Steps Cover work surface with plastic tablecloth. In medium bowl, mix 1 part luminous zinc sulfide powder to 5 parts paint, stirring with paint stirrer. Advertisement Fabric Glow PaintIf you'd like to make a fabric project that will glow in the dark, glow powder can also be used with fabric paint. Again, light-colored paint works best. Supplies Plastic tablecloth Medium bowl Fabric paint Luminous zinc sulfide powder * Wooden paint stirrer Advertisement Steps Cover work surface with plastic tablecloth. In medium bowl, mix 1 part luminous zinc sulfide powder to 5 parts paint, stirring with paint stirrer. Advertisement Clear Glow-in-the-Dark PaintIf you'd like your project to glow but you don't want to add color to it, mix up some clear glow-in-the-dark paint instead, using the same instructions as above. Choose the type of clear medium to use based on your project. Advertisement Clear varnish works well on wood or metal projects. For glass, ceramics or decoupage projects, try mixing glow powder with decoupage varnish and sealer or finishing coats. I'm talking about materials that truly glow after you turn out the lights, not the ones that glow under black light or ultraviolet light, which are really just converting invisible high energy light into a lower energy form visible to your eyes. There are also items that glow because of ongoing chemical reactions that produce light, like the chemiluminescence of glow sticks. There are also bioluminescent materials, where the glow is caused by biochemical reactions in living cells, and glowing radioactive materials, which may emit photons or glow because of heat. These things glow, but how about glowing paints or the stars you can stick on the ceiling? Things Glow Because of PhosphorescenceStars and paint and glowing plastic beads glow from phosphorescence. This is a photoluminescent process in which a material absorbs energy and then slowly releases it in the form of visible light. Fluorescent materials glow via a similar process, but fluorescent materials release light within fractions of a second or seconds, which is not long enough to glow for most practical purposes. In the past, most glow in the dark products were made using zinc sulfide. The compound absorbed energy and then slowly released it over time. The energy wasn't really something you could see, so additional chemicals called phosphors were added to enhance the glow and add color. Phosphors take the energy and convert it into visible light. Modern glow in the dark stuff uses strontium aluminate instead of zinc sulfide. It stores and releases about 10 times more light than the zinc sulfide and its glow last longer. The rare earth europium is often added to enhance the glow. The modern paints are durable and water-resistant, so they can be used for outdoor decorations and fishing lures and not just jewelry and plastic stars. Why Glow in the Dark Things Are GreenThere are two main reasons why glow in the dark stuff mostly glows in green. The first reason is because the human eye is particularly sensitive to green light, so green appears brightest to us. Manufacturers choose phosphors that emit green to get the brightest apparent glow. The other reason green is a common color is because the most common affordable and non-toxic phosphor glows green. The green phosphor also glows the longest. It's simple safety and economics! To some extent there is a third reason green is the most common color. The green phosphor can absorb a wide range of wavelengths of light to produce a glow, so the material can be charged under sunlight or strong indoor light. Many other colors of phosphors require specific wavelengths of light to work. Usually, this is ultraviolet light.To get these colors to work (e.g., purple), you need to expose the glowing material to UV light. In fact, some colors lose their charge when exposed to sunlight or daylight, so they aren't as easy or fun for people to use. Green is easy to charge, long-lasting, and bright. However, the modern aqua blue color rivals green in all of these aspects. Colors that either require a specific wavelength to charge, don't glow brightly, or need frequent recharging include red, purple, and orange. New phosphors are always being developed, so you can expect constant improvements in products. ThermoluminescenceThermoluminescence is the release of light from heating. Basically, enough infrared radiation is absorbed to release light in the visible range. One interesting thermoluminescent material is chlorophone, a type of fluorite. Some chlorophane can glow in the dark simply from exposure to body heat! TriboluminescenceSome photoluminescent materials glow from triboluminescence. Here, exerting pressure on a material imparts the energy needed to release photons. The process is believed to be caused by the separation and joining of static electrical charges. Examples of natural triboluminescent materials include sugar, quartz, fluorite, agate, and diamond. Other Process That Produce a GlowWhile most glow-in-the-dark materials rely on phosphorescence because the glow lasts a long time (hours or even days), other luminescent processes occur. In addition to fluorescence, thermoluminescence, and triboluminescence, there are also radioluminescence (radiation besides light is absorbed and released as photons), crystalloluminescence (light is released during crystallization), and sonoluminescence (absorption of sound waves lead to light release). Sources
Cite this Article Format mla apa chicagoYour Citation Helmenstine, Anne Marie, Ph.D. "How Glow in the Dark Stuff Works." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/how-glow-in-the-dark-stuff-works-607871 (accessed January 3, 2023). What activates glow in the dark paint?The object should be charged under direct sunlight or artificial light for 2-3 hours for maximum glow. For optimal glow, charge in direct light.
What causes glow in the dark paint to glow?luminous paint, paint that glows in the dark because it contains a phosphor, a substance that emits light for a certain length of time after exposure to an energy source, such as ultraviolet radiation. Zinc sulfide and calcium sulfide are such phosphors.
Can you make regular paint glow in the dark?Ingredients: Acrylic paints or water-based paints, 3-4 teaspoons each per color desired. Phosphorescent glow powder, 1-2 teaspoons each per color desired.
Does all glow in the dark paint have radium?Glow-in-the-dark paint is now made without radioactive material, but in the early 1900s radioactive materials were used to make paint that glowed. Radium is one type of radioactive material that could be found in antiques.
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What Chemical makes paint glow in the dark?
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