[off topic] Glow in the dark alarm clock

[Esco]

Where can I get a battery alarm clock which has hands that can be read in the dark?

[TMC]

Argos £2.50

[ransley]

Ive seen them but you have to push a button to make them light, post back if you find one that just stays lit, I just got a Weather thermometer with clock at HD, but again its dark till you push the button but it has an RF set clock so it never needs setting.

[Dave Liquorice]

Quick look in the Tesco Direct catalog (it just happened to be the nearest) page 444 at least 3 of the 4 across the top of the page have luminous hands. The LH one looks to have luminous figures as well. The RH one dots for the hours.

[Bernard Peek]

Extravagant! I'd check Poundland first.

[RobertL]

they don't use radioactive luminous paint any more, so 'glow in the dark' watches and clocks are a thing of the past.

Robert

[Mike Barnes]

I've come to the same conclusion. The paint often *looks* like the proper luminous stuff, but it isn't. The clock I bought recently has some kind of fluorescent paint that glows green for a short while after the light goes out, but not long enough to be of much use.

[Dave Liquorice]

The non-radioactive paints need "charging up" with decent light, kept in room with the curtains closed or only brief artifical light source they are dim. The best way to charge up these paints is with a UV light source, say a bank note light or one for making the invisible security pens visible.

There are still radio active glow in the dark things in the market. Mostly emergency signs and the like, they use tritium IIRC rather than radium.

[harry]

The term is phosphorescent. Bit here on the topic.

[Colin Stamp]

The ones with crappy luminous paint are easy to get from the usual places. If you want one that really works though, you'll need spend some money and get a tritium one:-

bit of digging might get you one closer to home. try Googling for Luminox, Traser or Tritium

Cheers,

Colin.

[Frank]

There are alarm clocks with tritium dials. Did not google far but they look pricey:

particles from nuclear decay are harmless.

[spamlet]

Ive seen them but you have to push a button to make them light, post back if you find one that just stays lit, I just got a Weather thermometer with clock at HD, but again its dark till you push the button but it has an RF set clock so it never needs setting.

I've got one of those. I tried every room in the house before I found somewhere the numbers would show up! Very accurate though...

S

[NT]

you might still find an old one, but then you get to put up with clockwork's inaccuracy and need for incessant winding.

NT

[hrhofmann]

To stay lit permanently would run down the battery too quickly, so that's why you have to push to get it to light.

[NT]

Don't... just don't.

NT

[Don Klipstein]

Not completely. Bad if source is ingested, bad if source is inhaled in form of anything that sticks in lungs or is absorbed into the body from lungs. OK if in a closed container and low energy, as is the case with tritium.

[Frank]

Yes but unlikely and does not compare to the old radium dials that caused cancer to the women painting them on.

[HeyBub]

When all else fails, use the Harbor Freight free flashlight...

[jeff_wisnia]

That probably wouldn't have happened as much is the ladies weren't in the habit of "pointing" the brushes with their lips.

(Or so I've read.)

Jeff

[Adam Aglionby]

The `Radium Girls` were instructed to, assured Radium was harmless

killed its discoverer Marie Curie and continues to present a hazard all over the place, Forth coastline, Scotland, has radioactive hotspots from burning scrapped aircraft dials on the shore.

Tritium is very good, but expensive.

Zinc Sulphide is the dissapointing old glow in dark stuff.

Strontium Aluminate is much, much more effective, non radioactive, glows for easy 8 hours , intially brighter than tritium.

Photoluminescent is the phrase if you want it by the litre, its used as way to safety markers on things like oil rigs, smaller bits , any number of vendors like

photoluminescent

personally had good luck with poundland clocks, get the brushes while your in ;-)

Cheers Adam