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Why aren’t Luminlays available in white??


CameronJ
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Just had a thought. I love the idea of Luminlay fret markers but am not a fan of them only coming in blue or green. Come to think of it, most things that “glow in the dark” tend to be blue, green or yellow. Think party glowsticks or even the arms on an analogue wristwatch. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a “glow” product in white - is there a scientific reason for this? Hmmm...

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That greenish colour is simply the most powerful. There are several colours available, but all others than green, and those close to it, are far less luminous. Check RC Tritec's pages and available options (8, I think). I have seen several active colours, too (mostly tritium) and there is the same issue: orange may look nice on paper, but the luminosity is very faint.

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4 hours ago, CameronJ said:

Just had a thought. I love the idea of Luminlay fret markers but am not a fan of them only coming in blue or green. Come to think of it, most things that “glow in the dark” tend to be blue, green or yellow. Think party glowsticks or even the arms on an analogue wristwatch. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a “glow” product in white - is there a scientific reason for this? Hmmm...

Yes... basically (ignoring the quantum mechanics) glow in the dark materials absorb photons and re-emit them slowly in a very narrow bandwith. Strontium aluminate emits at 520 nm, which is green. White light is a mixture of light at all different wavelengths of the visible spectrum. You just don't get materials that will do that. It might be possible to produce a material that holds red, blue and green phosphorescent materials in such a way that the emitted light appears white, but it probably wouldn't be anywhere near as strong as the plain green variety.

 

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4 hours ago, itu said:

That greenish colour is simply the most powerful. There are several colours available, but all others than green, and those close to it, are far less luminous. Check RC Tritec's pages and available options (8, I think). I have seen several active colours, too (mostly tritium) and there is the same issue: orange may look nice on paper, but the luminosity is very faint.

 

3 hours ago, dlloyd said:

Yes... basically (ignoring the quantum mechanics) glow in the dark materials absorb photons and re-emit them slowly in a very narrow bandwith. Strontium aluminate emits at 520 nm, which is green. White light is a mixture of light at all different wavelengths of the visible spectrum. You just don't get materials that will do that. It might be possible to produce a material that holds red, blue and green phosphorescent materials in such a way that the emitted light appears white, but it probably wouldn't be anywhere near as strong as the plain green variety.

 

This confirms my suspicions - thanks chaps. I guess the workaround is to have white LEDs installed xD

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