Traser Orbs

I think that Traser should start making large objects that glow, the size of marbles, etc. that will give off more light. It would be pretty cool to have an acrylic or glass ball the size of a golf ball that could light up a small room. If they made it out of the right material you wouldn't have to worry much about breaking it.
I also think it would be cool if they made jewelry. Imagine a ring with a vial under the stone so that it would glow continuously.
You could have some sweet Halloween costume accesories.

Do you think it's possible/practicle?

Actually there are large glowing "objects" made with the same material as the Glowrings. There was a thread a while ago, I believe it`s in the "new stuff" forum? But anyway a company makes big giant glowrings that screw to the floor in cinemas to light the aisles. And the same company makes electricity-free lighted exit signs with the same Tritium gas/phosphor stuff inside. Trouble is, since Tritium is radioactive, however slight, it has tight controls. Not just anyone can buy those exit signs, you have to get a license or something and return the signs to the manufacturer at the end of their life for safe disposal.

If a large glowring-like light was sold to us public, it`s guaranteed some idiot will end up breaking one open delibaretly, and although I believe the gas will dissipate in seconds and is as good as harmless, there are still risks however small. Then of course is the cost. Little glowrings aren`t cheap, just think how much a big huge one would cost!
So I doubt we will see Trituim night lights any time soon. Buy a lot of the glowrings though and perhaps it will give enough light? Not sure, I havn`t got any yet though I want some one day.


But I agree, little itsy bitsy ones would be kind of cool and safer than the normal ones- less radioactive gas inside. Think of it- Everlasting christmas lights maybe, no need to plug them in or change the bulbs ever, just a string of little glowing vials. They glow 10+ years, the average string of lights only lasts about that long if used every year, and think of how many bulbs you`d need to replace in that time! Solves power shortage problems overnight too!

Oh well, maybe one day.

Here`s the link Chris is speaking about. www.isolite.com/selfluminous/specsheets/model2088.htm

For anyone curious about Tritium, here's some text from an article with respect to watches:

Radiation Dose

A wearer of a radium-dialed watch will receive a gonadal dose of not more than 4 mrad/yr. This is to be compared to the natural radiation dose of 100-300 mrad/yr. A NY-LA flight will give a dose of about 1 mrad. The wearer of a metal-backed Tritium dialed watch receives a much lower dose: about 0.03 mrad/yr. The dose from GTLS watches should be significantly lower than 0.03 mrad/yr because the Tritium is sealed in glass capsules. The rad has dimensions of energy absorbed per unit mass, and is equal to 100 ergs/gram. The S. I unit is the Gray (Gy) and is equal to 1 Joule/kilogram. 1 rad = 1 cGy (centiGray).

See "Medical Effects of Ionizing Radiation", 2nd ed., Fred Mettler and Arthur Upton, W. B. Saunders, Philadelphia, 1995, chpt. 2, "Sources of Radiation Exposure", p. 42.

Tritium is a pure beta emitter, with a beta range of 6 mm in air, 0.0052 mm in water. Thus, the beta particles cannot even penetrate the dead layer of the skin, which is 0.07 mm thick. The danger from Tritium comes from ingestion or absorption of Tritium through the skin. The beta particles from a Tritium decay within the body can in fact damage cells.
Totally plastic watches ( i. e. with plastic backs = Swatch) containing Tritium paint can allow some Tritium gas to diffuse through the back of the watch and thence through the wearer's skin. The concentration of Tritium in the urine for these wearers is ten times higher than that of persons wearing Tritium watches with metal backs. This amount is EXTREMELY, EXTREMELY low. This gives an annual dose of 0.4 to 2 mrads, less than that of a Radium-dialed watch.

For the complete article, click here.

The Traser Glowrings arrived from the UK by mail. I got the four pack but they come packaged individually.

They are pretty cool, but the glow is so dim that they don't become visible until the room darkens a little. In the daytime they just look like a clear plastic keychain. The glow is about equivalent to a chemical glow stick in it's dieing hours.

Now I'm trying to think of a use for them. About the only thing I can come up with is maybe to hang them on the pull chain of a basement light. Like I said, they're just too dim to have any benefit if there's much ambient light around. Still kind of fun though.

Ron, Do you have a fairly new (1-2yrs. old) Luminox watch? If so, hold the green one next to the watch in the dark and compare them.
point of interest..-casual specs are: visiblity @ 30' in complete darkness....

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by RonM:
The Traser Glowrings arrived from the UK by mail. I got the four pack but they come packaged individually.

They are pretty cool, but the glow is so dim that they don't become visible until the room darkens a little. In the daytime they just look like a clear plastic keychain. The glow is about equivalent to a chemical glow stick in it's dieing hours.

Now I'm trying to think of a use for them. About the only thing I can come up with is maybe to hang them on the pull chain of a basement light. Like I said, they're just too dim to have any benefit if there's much ambient light around. Still kind of fun though.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Let me give you a suggestion - and I am saying this as having been there done that - Put it on a keyring you use most and on anything you want to see in the dark, that you put somewhere and can't find it. It has saved me several times.

Best Regards,

Videocal - Don't have the Navy seal watch. But the Traser Glowrings can definitely be seen at 30' or more in darkness. Just not very visible when there's much ambient light around.

Chas - You gave me an idea. Our house has double deadbolts on all doors so a key must be used to unlock them, even from the inside. Good for burglar protection. Bad for fire safety. I keep a key near each door and now I've put the key on the Traser Glowring so it can be located more quickly in an emergency.

By the way, they have proven to be quite a conversation piece. People are curious about them.

Well, I have just ordered a set of the 4 Traser Glowrings from adventurekit.com. I have no idea what they will cost - didn't look up the exchange rate. This is my first time ordering anything from outside the US. I hope it works!

Robl

The 4 Traser Glowrings ran 15.95 English pounds and my credit card shows this as $22.91.