September 11, 2008

40 Years Of Glowsticks

The glowstick was invented over 40 years ago by Edwin Chandross, a chemist at Bell Labs. Glowsticks use chemical energy to product light. At the time it was quite a remarkable achievement because either electrical mains or battery were the energy sources for most light producing devices.

Based on Chandross' work, many scientists took on the task for further refining the process. However, the patent for Chemical Light Device is registered in the US Patent in the name of inventor Richard Taylor Van Zandt.

Glow sticks are a single use device can come in various different sizes and shapes in translucent plastic tubes. One of the chemicals used in the device are contained within a brittle inner case surrounding by another chemical needed for the reaction. When the brittle case is broken the two chemicals combine and produce light through a chemical reaction known as chemoluminescence.

Today, glow sticks are used the world over as a source of light and millions of people all over the world use these colorful sticks. It is believed that nearly 15 million glow sticks are used by the United States Department of Defense each year.

There are many uses of glow sticks and some of them are listed below:

-A dance form known as glow sticking is extremely popular in present day. Glow sticks are used for entertainment in parties, concerts, and dance clubs. This is one of the most widely acknowledged uses of glow sticks in pop culture.

-They are commonly being associated with festivals and holidays. Glowsticks are used extensively during the Mid-Autumn Festival in Hong Kong. For Westerners where Halloween is celebrated, you will find parents and kids alike using illuminesent lights when trick or treating. In addition to adding to the spooky atmosphere from the eerie light produced by glow sticks, it allows parents and drivers to see where children are wandering about much more effectively than reflective tape.

-Besides all this fun, glow sticks have an extremely practical use. They are waterproof and can withstand high pressure. In addition, they are disposable and inexpensive. That is why divers, campers and military use these sticks as a source of light and as markers.

If there is an earthquake, these sticks come very handy and are a safe source of light. Even in places where there are explosives, the sticks can be used as they do not use batteries or electrical filaments and there is no worry about causing sparks.

These sticks were a rage in the 1980s. However, they are equally popular today among ordinary people. In order to get the best out of the stick, it is advisable to buy one that lasts. Cheap glow sticks fizzle out rather fast. Better quality stick will last for hours. A good quality glow stick will usually last for 12 to 24 hours.