The fading lights of RCFM 2004

[vakkotaur]

Saturday evening at RCFM there was a dance and someone brought many flexible chemical light glow sticks. There were some short sticks that were rather bright and longer ones that were not as bright. Someone handed me a few of the activated longer ones declaring them to be duds. While they were not as bright as the shorter ones and seemed not to be much when in an already lighted area, they did cast enough light to be useful in a dim room.

The next night, they were still glowing. Now I was curious, how long would they last? I brought them home with me and have been checking them from time to time. At first they cast enough light that I could read, though they did have to be close to the page. They have grown dimmer, but are not yet completely dark. They are of very limited use now.

Last night I checked again and I had to let my eyes dark-adapt for a few minutes before I could see the dim glow. At first I had to not quite look at them. Averted vision is a trick for seeing dim things by not looking right at them. The eye is a bit more light sensitive off of center as it were. The center is better for detail.

I don't know how long it will be until the things have gone truly dark, or at least to the point where my eyes are not sensitive enough to detect any light from them. Being an exponential decay, that could be some time yet. Since the light is no longer bright enough to be useful, it doesn't seem to matter much. Even so, not bad for being a month and a half after activation.

Comments

You know what this means

[jugularjaguar.livejournal.com]

RCFM is now officially over.

I suppose so.

[vakkotaur.livejournal.com]

But does that mean if someone finds glow sticks that last eight times as long for next year that RCFM 2005 won't end until RCFM 2006?

<evil>This is the con that never ends
it goes on and on, my friends.></evil>

[kiwihunter8.livejournal.com]

Them's some kick ass glowsticks you've got there, Vakkotaur!

Hey, I pulled out my plastic Animaniacs plate last night and thought of you. It was from a kid's dinner set, I got it in a Warner Bros. store. I love that plate.

[vakkotaur.livejournal.com]

Faboo!

Only you...

[irpooh.livejournal.com]

Welll... maybe one or two other people, but I don't know them, would take time not only to study, but write about: The Life Span of a Glow Stick"

Re: Only you...

[vakkotaur.livejournal.com]

It's not like I kept a log with careful measurements and plotted the results...

[chakawolf.livejournal.com]

You know you can freeze those things while they're still glowing, and it will stop the reaction. They will glow again on thawing. That way you can keep a con 'on ice' forever!

[vakkotaur.livejournal.com]

I know that cold will slow or stop the reaction, as heat will speed it up. Maybe that I kept the glow sticks in the basement extended their life, but at least provided a fairly uniform temperature. While I could have stopped or greatly slowed the reaction, it wouldn't have answered the "how long will it last" question, at as I intended, which was without interference.