White Yeti
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Glow powder activators.
Just a quick question. I read that additives in ZnS glow powder give the glow powders some pretty colours. Silver makes blue glow powder and manganese
gives a red-orange glow. I was wondering if iron would activate ZnS glow powder. It's a transition metal just like silver, copper and manganese, so it
seems like it would work...
What do you think?
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Endimion17
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Moderator should join all of the "ZnS threads". There are at least 4 of them, maybe more.
On topic, I've tried that with silver and manganese, but no results if you just grind them all together. There were some glowing pieces, but they're
not impressive. Copper gives green glow which is not only the brightest, but also the most easily picked up by our eyes.
[Edited on 8-10-2011 by Endimion17]
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White Yeti
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You have to understand that if I posted this on an existing thread, it wouldn't be completely relevant. So I decided that I would start another
thread.
There is a variety of issues with ZnS; synthesis, purification, extraction, doping, painting etc... Maybe joining them is not the best idea in the
world.
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Chemistry Alchemist
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i heard from some where when doing this reaction strongly heat it with calcium (cant remember what compound) its supposed to make it glow better or
another one is adding copper to the mixture and strongly heat... when doing it, try keep it in a closed space, pretty sure if its crushed the dead
bits mix with the working bits causing a bad glow... but whats through my experience
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Endimion17
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Quote: Originally posted by White Yeti | You have to understand that if I posted this on an existing thread, it wouldn't be completely relevant. So I decided that I would start another
thread.
There is a variety of issues with ZnS; synthesis, purification, extraction, doping, painting etc... Maybe joining them is not the best idea in the
world. |
I remember opening the same thread, or continuing one older thread because I wanted to talk about these same things...
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IrC
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Silver is most often used for gamma radiation activation of ZnS. If you are trying to make good glow powders ZnS will always be a poor substitute for
experimenting with Sr and Ca Aluminates. Especially if multiple colors and long glow times is your goal.
"Science is the belief in the ignorance of the experts" Richard Feynman
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White Yeti
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Quote: Originally posted by IrC | Silver is most often used for gamma radiation activation of ZnS. If you are trying to make good glow powders ZnS will always be a poor substitute for
experimenting with Sr and Ca Aluminates. Especially if multiple colors and long glow times is your goal.
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I'm only getting started, I first want to know if the sample I made this weekend works. It better work because I risked life and lung trying to make
it. I bubbled H2S through an aqueous solution of zinc acetate.
I don't have a blacklight at the moment, so I have to ask my friend if he is willing to shine a blacklight on my sample and confirm the results.
I could try to make strontium aluminate, but the procedure calls for pure chemicals and rare earth metals. These are a little out of my reach.
[Edited on 10-10-2011 by White Yeti]
"Ja, Kalzium, das ist alles!" -Otto Loewi
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IrC
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If you can find a cheap UV LED flashlight such as is used for money testing it will work very well for testing a glow powder. One I found was only 3
dollars and charges up my glow powders very brightly. A few minutes in sunlight works but the UV LED is handy.
For small samples to test if your formula and material working techniques are on the right track this works well.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-UV-money-detector-light-LED-flashl...
This works better.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ultra-Violet-UV-12-LED-Flashlight-To...
This one is brighter but covers a smaller area.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/UltraFire-395-400nm-LED-3W-UV-WF-501...
This one kicks ass. I bought several one and three watt models but none of them charge my glow powders as well as the 51 LED model. I imagine simply
because it is easier to see the glow if a larger sample is charged up. In any case the below is my favorite solid state glow tester. Not so hard on
your pocketbook either.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/51-UV-395-nm-Ultra-Violet-LED-Blackl...
Since you can get online there must be a way for under four bucks on the money testers or under 20 for the really good ones, to obtain something along
these lines.
[Edited on 10-10-2011 by IrC]
"Science is the belief in the ignorance of the experts" Richard Feynman
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Vogelzang
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Rare earth doped Strontium Aluminate
http://www.4shared.com/video/SwsjOVD5/Luminescent.html
[Edited on 10-10-2011 by Vogelzang]
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AndersHoveland
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I seem to remember someone in this forum discussing fusing boric oxide with calcium oxide, and using a little bismuth as the activator.
Also see this intrigueing thread. Perhaps someone can decipher the alchemy and be able to translate it into understandable chemical terms:
http://www.lost-academy.com/t4-the-glowing-white-philosophic...
I'm not saying let's go kill all the stupid people...I'm just saying lets remove all the warning labels and let the problem sort itself out.
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Neil
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@Anders - perhaps the modernised equation would be
Mad ravings + Hokium = White glower powder in a vial?
@ yeti
http://prola.aps.org/abstract/PR/v92/i5/p1135_1
Phys. Rev. 92, 1135–1139 (1953)Mechanism of Impurity Poisoning in the Luminescence of Zinc Sulfide Phosphors with Manganese Activator
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IrC
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More likely Boric Oxide was a flux. Strontium Nitrate is a good flux for glow powders, even lending the Strontium for Ca-Sr Aluminates. With some Eu
and Gd you make a great long lasting one. I sent Fleaker a few of mine long ago and He seemed to like them. But illness got in the way and I have not
messed with it for a few years. Still have pounds of all kinds of Lanthanides though. Maybe someday.
"Science is the belief in the ignorance of the experts" Richard Feynman
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White Yeti
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Thanks for the link Neil! I had no idea that iron would poison zinc sulfide phosphor. I'll stick to copper from now on then.
"Ja, Kalzium, das ist alles!" -Otto Loewi
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