Green Tech, Domestic God / Goddess, Creative Type
The Cheap Light That Lasts 12 Years!
A company that sells glow-in-the-dark-paint has invented another way to combat the forces of darkness. MPK Company, while not in league with Harry Potter or Luke Skywalker, has conjured up a new light source called Litroenergy. These self-luminous, tiny particles, called Litrospheres, have a remarkable half-life of about 12 years and are encased in a microsphere container.
In addition, they are non-toxic and do not require a source of electricity to operate, which means the technology is extremely cheap! Litrospheres are also said to be unaffected by temperature and up to 5,000 pounds crush resistant. The Litrospheres, which can be injection molded or used in paint, release no ultraviolet rays.
Litroenergy works by emitting electrons from a radioactive gas that is contained by the durable microsphere capsules. Able to transmit continuous light in virtually any color, the Litrosphere light seems to have one major drawback: It is not nearly as bright as light powered by electricity. The Litrosphere glow translates to about 20 watts in an electric light source.
The makers at MPK envision Litroenergy being used for safety purposes, such as lining life rafts or safety markings. In the future, the company sees uses extending to bicycles, sporting/camping equipment, toys and other novelty items.
Consumers should rejoice at this cheap, safe, durable and long-lasting font of illumination. Imagine putting Litrospheres in the creepy dark parts of the house, like the attic, or in alleyways that give you the willies. Which gets us thinking about its Halloween applications...
From PESWiki Via TreeHugger
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
minnesotainventor said 3:16PM on 10-24-2008
Update on technology:
The 2007 NASA Tech Brief's Grand Prize award winning light source from MPK CO. was just disclosed in this years contest to create electricity when applied to solar cells. Versatile, abundant and low cost electrical energy - this can power micro devices, electric car, homes, etc. for 20+ years. Green Tech the world needs today!
The technology aims to replace batteries, generating low-cost electricity for everything from micro devices to utility applications has groundbreaking implications and potential to turn the battery business upside down.
Litroenergy is made from litrospheres, which are self-illuminating micro particles that, when they are placed on or sandwiched between solar cells, generate electricity. The light-emitting micro particles are not affected by heat or cold and can be used in sheet form for easy application on solar cells.
“The many novel, versatile and far reaching applications/benefits for low cost on-going durable, solid state power generation without using any additional resources and being extremely environmentally friendly has ground breaking implications for our energy consuming world.”
Litroenergy.com
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Evan said 12:55PM on 12-14-2007
Safe?? Oh is that the radioactive gas part???
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Zehaas Sram said 10:26AM on 2-09-2008
Understanding radiation.
Note that when Tritium decays, it produces Helium3, a beta electron, and an electron anti-neutrino.
The radiation from this decay cannot penetrate your skin. You would have to inhale the tritium gas in order to have any effect from the radiation, and again, as stated above, the microspheres hold up under 5,000 lbs of force.
To put this in perspective, you are infinitely more likely to get sick from a doorknob than from this product.
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