Glass Message Board
Glass Identification - Post here for all ID requests => Glass => Topic started by: mrvaselineglass on July 21, 2008, 10:39:43 PM
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Ok, we have all seen the verbiage that the vaseline glass is so WOW that it "glows in the dark". Now, generally speaking, it only glows when there is a UV light source on it -- until now!
I commissioned these to be made. when you have two, they are OCTOPI (not octopuses!).
The glass artist is Jack Loranger at www.hotglass.cc (http://www.hotglass.cc)
They are made of both vaseline glass and phosphorus. The one on the left had a phosphorus powder put on the outer surface of the vaseline glass. The one on the right has phosphorus glass chips that are embedded/mixed in with the vaseline glass. The top photo, shows in normal room lighting. Middle photo shows under a UV blacklight. After 'charging up' the phosphorus under the blacklight for a few minutes, the bottom photo was taken, with the blacklight OFF. They will continue to glow and are visible glowing in a black room for at least 5 - 6 hours. Height on the one on the right is 2 3/4" and 4 3/4" on the widest spread of the tentacles.
www.vaselineglass.org/octopi.jpg (http://www.vaselineglass.org/octopi.jpg)
If you can come up with an idea, Loranger can generally make it. I have over 20 pieces of glass from him. A pic can be seen at http://www.vaselineglass.org/loranger17.jpg (http://www.vaselineglass.org/loranger17.jpg)
All are vaseline glass except the top row, 2nd from left. That piece (blue rim, blue and purple feathering) is all phosphorus glass, with no uranium. It glows a bright blue when charged up with a UV light.
Dave Peterson
(aka: Mr. Vaseline Glass)
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They're cute, thank you for showing us Dave
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They're lovely. :D What made you choose octopi? Do you have a secret octopus obsession you haven't told us about Dave? ;) :D
I used some of this powder when I did some glass fusing recently - except I didn't have a very good teacher and my glass wasn't heated to the right temperature. Consequently, the glow powder didn't really fuse into the glass and was kind of loose on the surface when it came out of the kiln. I'm not sure that's good for one's health, having it blowing about, so I had to bin the whole thing. >:(
A good use for phosphorous powder (didn't know it was phosphorous actually) would be to use some of it for glass door knobs. ^-^ Think of it: No more nightlights for children and no more walking into the wall at night when you're trying to find the bathroom... :D
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Not sure it's actually phosphorus as such, that isn't very stable, kind of goes in for spontaneous combustion - think napalm bomb. It could be a phosphorus compound or a phosphorescent compound that's nothing to do with phosphorus.
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This is what I used:
https://www.creativeglassguild.co.uk/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=2382
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It really is phosphorous or P2O5 (phosphorus pentoxide) and it lowers the melting temperature = less fuel. It is also used as a brightener and to opalise glass and commonly found in tableware and bottles. Its main disdantage is that exposed to the elements it causes phosphoric acid to form. Some optical glasses uses in lenses contain 60% phosphorous oxide. It is also used in glass used in semiconductors where special treatments are needed to remove the phosphorus from the surface to prevent corrosion. Glass is a significant factor in environmental contamination by phosphorus. And of course, phosphor is phosphorescent although not the most widely used phosphorescent.
The glass is sometimes described as Phosphate glass. Other forms of phosphorus are in use these days too.
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It's that extra o that makes the difference or even the O5 Phosphorus is so reactive that it is not found as a free element in nature
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I have written to the glassblower to find out the exact chemical that he used. I will post it as soon as I find out.
dave
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OK, the glassmaker got back to me on what he uses. This is the powder that continues to glow after the lights go out. I was wrong. not phosphorus.
It is/was: Strontium Aluminate powder
Don't know what it is, but I like it.
Dave
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A google search suggests Strontium Aluminate powder is used for many things, including toys.
The wikipedia article (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strontium_aluminate) about it seems to be reasonable and says that its green glow is brightest but the blue is the longest glow time.
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Thanks Dave ;D
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This sentence from the Wiki link above is puzzling:
Strontium aluminate phosphor is fired at about 1250 °C. Subjecting it to temperatures above 1090 °C is likely to cause loss of its phosphorescent properties.
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A lot of Wikipedia entries are not only puzzling, they're outright wrong. Best taken with a grain of salt and viewed as opinions, not facts.
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The conversion to Fahrenheit is 1994 degrees, and if it was put on close to the end of the process, after the last time it had been to the glory hole, The temp might have been kept under that level. and yes, Wiki could also be off by a few degrees.
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Very nifty! It can only be charged with UV? I would have thought visible light would charge it, too, since it's used in other glow-in-the-dark things, such as toys.
ps The first plural form listed for octopus in my Encarta dictionary is octopuses.
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Most light has a UV content, except LED bulbs where it is filtered out to add the non-fading characteristic to their marketting. UV Leds are also available.
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All the more reason it should be able to be charged with normal light, I would think.
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Oh, sure, sunlight will 'charge' it up too, but a blacklight is just sooooo much quicker.
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The "correct" plural of octopus is octopodes - it being originally a Greek word, and all that. Noone ever uses it, of course...
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Ah, I see...I thought you had to use a UV light to charge it.
I think I understand the confusion about it being phosphorus that makes it glow. Turns out compounds that are phosphorescent are called phosphors, but that doesn't mean they have phosphorus in them - the words come from the same Greek words for "light" and "bearer," but phosphorus doesn't actually phosphoresce, it exhibits chemiluminescence - the light comes from a chemical reaction. Phosphors emit light in sort of a delayed reaction of 3 excited electrons moving back into their normal state. Fluorescents also emit light after being excited by UV light, but in this case 2 electrons are excited differently, and shoot their wad much more quickly.
Such is my understanding from a few Wikipedia articles, anyway.
Wiktionary:
"Fowler’s Modern English Usage states that 'the only acceptable plural in English is octopuses', and that octopi is misconceived and octopodes pedantic. Octopi derives from the mistaken notion that octopus is Latin, which it is not. Rather, it is Latinized Greek, from oktōpous (ὀκτώπους), masculine gender, whose plural is oktōpodes (ὀκτώποδες). ...
That said, Merriam-Webster and other dictionaries accept octopi as a plural form. The Oxford English Dictionary lists octopuses, octopi, and octopodes (the order reflecting decreasing frequency of use), stating that the last form is rare. The term octopod (either plural octopods and octopodes can be found) is taken from the taxonomic order Octopoda but has no classical equivalent. The collective form octopus is usually reserved for animals consumed for food."