There have been quite a few posts about the new GlowPaint by the company MPK Co., using their Litroenergy technology that uses "betavoltaic" energy to glow for 12 years with no need to "charge it up" with light. Very cool stuff. And it can glow in almost any color you'd like.
The power source is radioactive gas sealed inside of tiny glass and plastic spheres; the radiation is in the form of electrons, which causes the glow, and which stay sealed inside the extremely crush resistant micro capsules. The tiny spheres can molded into plastic or included into paint.
But on MPK's site, they talk about how their paint is NOT radioactive. I suspect this claim refers to their older, more traditional line of glow in the dark paint that you needed to "charge up" in bright light.
And I have a prediction:
Despite being potentially dangerous and completely untested, I wonder if small amounts of this stuff will be included in human tattoos. Think about it. A dragon tattoo is drawn, with the eyes left blank, and then small deposits of Red Glow Paint beads are put under the skin for the eyes. The color red travels very efficiently through thin layers of skin, and would give the dragon tattoo glowing red eyes (in the dark or low light). The effect will only last 10 years or so, only visible in the dark, and who knows possibly cause fatal radiation poisoning, but I suspect that won't stop everyone. If the spheres are as indestructible as they say, who knows, maybe it won't kill 'ya.
I work for a company called Glow Inc that sells high-end phosphorescent pigments. We have customers that use coated glow in the dark pigments for tatoos. If done properly, they will loose only about 5% glow over 10 years. I personally doubt the radioactive MPK stuff will ever make it to market as they advertise.
Posted by: Daniel Clark | December 25, 2007 at 06:10 PM