Luminous paint

Fluorescent paint is available in a wide range of colors and is used in theatrical lighting and effects, posters, and as entertainment for children.

Both types of paints have extensive application where artistic lighting effects are desired, particularly in "black box" entertainments and environments such as theaters, bars, shrines, etc.

It is made from phosphors such as silver-activated zinc sulfide or doped strontium aluminate, and typically glows a pale green to greenish-blue color.

Kenner's Lightning Bug Glo-Juice was a popular non-toxic paint product in 1968, marketed at children, alongside other glow-in-the-dark toys and novelties.

Because of safety concerns and tighter regulation, consumer products such as clocks and watches now increasingly use phosphorescent rather than radioluminescent substances.

[2] Radioluminescent paint was invented in 1908 by Sabin Arnold von Sochocky[3][failed verification – see discussion] and originally incorporated radium-226.

Radium is a radiological hazard, emitting gamma rays that can penetrate a glass watch dial and into human tissue.

[3] Thousands of legacy radium dials are still owned by the public and the paint can still be dangerous if ingested in sufficient quantities, which is why it has been banned in many countries.

The phosphor degrades relatively fast and the dials lose luminosity in several years to a few decades; clocks and other devices available from antique shops and other sources therefore are not luminous any more.

[4][5] The latest generation of the radioluminescent materials is based on tritium, a radioactive isotope of hydrogen with half-life of 12.32 years that emits very low-energy beta radiation.

They are favored by the military for applications where a power source may not be available, such as for instrument dials in aircraft, compasses, lights for map reading, and sights for weapons.

Fluorescent body paint under a black light
Pearl Scene using phosphorescent paint, Irving Berlin 's 1921 Music Box Revue
A 1950s radium clock, exposed to ultraviolet light to increase luminescence
Radioluminescent 1.8- curie (67 GBq ) 6-by-0.2-inch (152.4 mm × 5.1 mm) tritium vials are simply tritium gas-filled, thin glass vials with inner surfaces coated with a phosphor . The "gaseous tritium light source" vial shown here is brand new.