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sprytemember
45 posts
Location: Canada


Posted:
Just when you thought your glow sticks were dead.... Microwave'em for 10 or 15 seconds !

AnonymousPLATINUM Member


Posted:
and?...what happens?

smittymember
104 posts
Location: Brisbane QLD Australia


Posted:
my guess is that they would either blow up or start glowing again

sprytemember
45 posts
Location: Canada


Posted:
Lets Just say ... Put your sun Glasses On smile

smittymember
104 posts
Location: Brisbane QLD Australia


Posted:
come on spryte, cant u give us details?

sprytemember
45 posts
Location: Canada


Posted:
I Had completly dead glow sticks tonight and wanted to show off to some people at my college.The store I get my sticks at was closed. So I stuck em in the microwave for 20 seconds and they re-activated.... BLINDINGLY BRIGHT. they kept on going for 2 hours it was AWSOME. Once they started to die off they were done in about 2 min. though. I think it might be neat to try it with Fresh Glow sticks. .... That would be cool!

Alexlexexmember
24 posts
Location: Staten Island, NY, USA


Posted:
They blow up don't they?

NY FirebatsA shirt that is soaked in fuel burns very nicely. - Not By Me


sprytemember
45 posts
Location: Canada


Posted:
I don't know If they Would Blow up... Any one interested in risking thier microwave further than I?

smittymember
104 posts
Location: Brisbane QLD Australia


Posted:
thats what the glasses were 4, do the old glad wrap trick, lol, might do the job

SimosBRONZE Member
enthusiast
384 posts
Location: London, UK


Posted:
it actually says on the wrapping sometimes that they glow much brighter in temperatures above 27 degrees Celcius i think but they last less; the other way round for colder temperatures...although i haven't tried reviving old glowsticks in the microwave i'll give it a try in the college's microwave oven... grinhappy swinging,Simos

smittymember
104 posts
Location: Brisbane QLD Australia


Posted:
i saw a thing on some sicence show that said if u put a glow stick in a glass of hot water it glows brighter but last less, if u put it in a glass of cold water its glows less but last alot longer.its something to do with speeding up the chemical reaction or slowing it down.

firestormmember
28 posts
Location: Redding, CA, USA


Posted:
does anybody know the chemical composition of glowsticks? where can I find a recipe?

^_-


Leviathanmember
5 posts
Location: LA, CA, USA


Posted:
haha... homemade glowsticks. You could keep vials of all of the glowstick chemicals in your handy bag, and mix it up at parties.~Lev~"Spindoc in spirit."

~Lev~Spindoc in spirit.


gάrbǿ²addict
521 posts
Location: Bristol / London / Norwich / Chennai, India (UK) (...


Posted:
Just thought I would bring this up,I shoved my dead glow sticks in the micro and far from glowing at all they simply went pop and covered my girlfriends microwave with glass and juice. shocked They had been in for a while but they never started glowing again. shocked BE CAREFULL shockedpeace outgarbo tongue------------------
quote:
"Be the change"Mahatma Ghandi

be excellent to each other: safe:


mattsinclairmember
1 post
Location: tampa, fl


Posted:
Yes, the microwave does work, but if you put the glowstick in for longer than 5 seconds it might explode. I have found that if you boil some water, and leave the glowstick in that for a few minutes it wont explode and will reactivate them. The microwave boils water in seconds, boiled water expands and pops the glowstick open, but boiling water wont be able to heat the juice inside fast enough to explode, but it'll still speed the chemical reaction. -matt / www.mattsinclair.com

SupermanBRONZE Member
member
829 posts
Location: Houston, Texas, USA


Posted:
there was a thread about this before. Someone here on the board is really good at chemistry and stuff, and they know exactly why this happens.It makes since, because if you freeze them its slows the chemical reaction, and heating them up speeds it. Ive thrown mine in the oven before. Definatley be careful microwaving them. If you do this to new sticks you kill about 2-3 hours off their life. But its great for the dead sticks."S"------------------"When a Man Lies He Murders Some Part of the World These Are the PaleDeaths Which Men Miscall Their Lives All this I Cannot Bear to Witness Any Longer Cannot the Kingdom of Salvation Take Me Home"

Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear--not absence of fear.


- Mark Twain


Fire Wiremember
26 posts
Location: Windsor, Berkshire, UK


Posted:
That sounds like quite an entertaining idea -- can you use sticks that are completely dead? or do they have to have a little life left in them still?xx Fire Wire xx tongueSweet harmony to all

Fire Wire''Fire is the all consuming element, let it consume you.''


beakermember
54 posts
Location: Salisbury, wiltshire, UK


Posted:
The heat supplied by the microwave will act as a catalyst as in all chemical reactions (Actually I'll say most to avoid being slated).But an increase in temparature gives a rise in molecular activity. It actually just makes them vibrate faster. This is on an atomic scale of course. As for them regenerating in the microwave I assume that the bonds formed when the two chemicals react in the first place are broken by the energy supplied when you cook em' thus allowing them to mix again...I miss school.... wink

C'mon baby light my fire


Dr. Spinmember
15 posts
Location: Chicago, MA, USA


Posted:
See this thread (my post near the bottom of the first page) for a discussion of the chemistry of glowsticks. I can provide more detailed info if you like...https://www.homeofpoi.com/ubb/Forum7/HTML/000022.htmlL8r,Clark

NYCNYC
9,232 posts
Location: NYC, NY, USA


Posted:
[Technically the heat needed isn't considered a catalyst. Heat/energy/temperature are all related to the speed of the particles. By speeding up the particles you get more collisions and therefore more reaction. A catalyst would be a "third party" molecule that would promote the reaction without being used up in it... Starting up teaching in less than a week, gotta make sure I'm on my game. wink]The above thread is a good one for more info though...

Well, shall we go?
Yes, let's go.
[They do not move.]


Janglamember
155 posts
Location: Oxford, UK


Posted:
Tried the pan of boiling water idea but decided in my infinite wisdom to leave the pan on the hob. 5 minutes later one popped spewing the smelliest, most acrid shite into the pan and stinking out my mates flat! Very nasty! No reactivation from the sticks either! BUGGER!------------------"We are all of us in the gutter but some of us are looking up at the stars."

---------------------With a bit of luck, his life was ruined; always thinking that just behind some narrow door, in his favourite bars, men in red woolen suits are getting incredible kicks from things he'll never know.


Mystaddict
439 posts
Location: Oceanside, California, USA


Posted:
Shut up with the Science terms. Hot=Bright, Short lastingCold=Dim, Long lastingIsn't that easy. If they are dead from days ago, they will not get brighter, but if they are dead from last night, still slightly glowing. They'll glow once you heat them. I don't recomend your microwave or boiling them. What I do for safe effective glow restoration is just turn on the hot water till it's steaming. Throw them in and 1 minute later you have a revived glowstick. From the freezer to the sink works for me. Eric

Its about talent, not make up or costumes.


MiSsFrOgmember
187 posts
Location: Oceanside, CA USA


Posted:
Wow, microwave the glowsticks? Ive heard of putting them in the freezer, but the microwave? hmm... learn somfin new everyday i guess.... smile

Its not easy being green....


SteelWngsBRONZE Member
member
169 posts
Location: Malden, Massachusetts United States, USA


Posted:
Chemiluminescence (AKA "glowstick juce")This is the process of generating light by a chemical reaction. You can do this by throwing a match into gasoline, but for those of us who prefer a more subtle method, this is quite pretty. By combining a luminescing solution with an oxidizing solution, a bright blue light source is created. To make the luminescing solution, combine: 4 g sodium carbonate0.2 g luminol24.0 g sodium bicarbonate0.5 g ammonium carbonate0.4 g copper (II) sulfate pentahydratewith 1 L distilled water. Mix to dissolve.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------For the oxidizing solution, dilute 50 mL of 3% hydrogen peroxide to 1 L.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mix the two solutions in an ehrlenmeyer flask (200 mL of each solution per class is sufficient), and watch for the eerie blueness! ------------------Blessings to all, Peter "There is a rhythm that unites us with the natural world. The more we learnto feel that rhythm and get it into the mainstream of our lives, thestronger can be our spirit."--- Robert Rodale

Blessings to all,
Peter
When you find yourself in the company of a halfling and an ill-tempered Dragon, remember, you do not have to outrun the Dragon ...you just have to outrun the halfling.


AnonymousPLATINUM Member


Posted:
Anyone eihter heard of TRITIUM glow stix or know where to get them?My friend got a pair from Germany and they'd glow for more than 10 yrsYes more than TEN YEARS.Greatly appreciated if anyone knows where to get them.

MiSsFrOgmember
187 posts
Location: Oceanside, CA USA


Posted:
glowing for 10 years huh? wow that would be the day No more going to marine stores to try to get them and spending 30 dollars a weekend on them.Hey i got it! when the 10 year ones start to dimm around 9 1/2 years just throw them in the microwave....Diiing, ten more years of life LMAO.... either that or glowstick pop corn wink--Erica

Its not easy being green....


AnonymousPLATINUM Member


Posted:
Actually, I have a friend who's father was a roommate of the guy who invented the glowstick. The first glow sticks ever made were designed for the military. Apparently they were MUCH brighter than glowsticks these days, and lasted MUCH longer. No 10 years, but more like 60 days. Still, they were much better than current glowsticks. I can't remember why they were discontinued, but I think it had to do with price. Either they cost too much to make, were too difficult to make, materials were hard to find/make, or (and this is what I think it is), the companies that made the glowsticks realized how much more money they could make if the glowsticks had a shorter life. The military deals fine with the shorter lived glowsticks (what could they ever use a 60 day glowstick for?), and even if they were made for the military, people would just try to buy the military ones, so glowstick manufacturers wouldn't make nearly as much money. ~Oh yeah, keep in mind that just because I was told this doesn't mean it's true.

RavingLunaticmember
286 posts

Posted:
damn corporate interests..I'm skeptical about anything glowing for 60 days and really skeptical about anything glowing for 10 years..it just doesn't seem possible..but, I'd like to be convinced, where can I get more info on these "uber-glowsticks"

~whoosh whoosh whoosh~


SteelWngsBRONZE Member
member
169 posts
Location: Malden, Massachusetts United States, USA


Posted:
https://www.traser-uk.com/I
checked out the site for the glow sticks that last 10 years. Anyone want to spin a key chain that is 50x10mm? In American that is about 2 inches long by one inch wide.Gods, and I thought that spinning glow sticks were light.Now what I would like to know is how many glowstix at one time does everyone use? Personally, I have found to compensate for the weight of my normal poi I end up using 3 sticks per string. ------------------Blessings to all, Peter "There is a rhythm that unites us with the natural world. The more we learnto feel that rhythm and get it into the mainstream of our lives, thestronger can be our spirit."--- Robert Rodale

Blessings to all,
Peter
When you find yourself in the company of a halfling and an ill-tempered Dragon, remember, you do not have to outrun the Dragon ...you just have to outrun the halfling.


MiSsFrOgmember
187 posts
Location: Oceanside, CA USA


Posted:
I usually use 4 that is One on each end of both strings...2 lit 2 not...usually i use my burnt out ones for handles,it works so much better,or ill do all 4 lit...or ill get creative and use 6 glowsticks,thats one on each end and two fastened to the middle,it looks trippy but its heavy. grin"come with me to a land of fantasy...take my hand...down into techno wonderland"

Its not easy being green....


AnonymousPLATINUM Member


Posted:
That's definately not what I was told about... the things I was told about were supposedly MUCH brighter. As for the length of the glow, I also don't believe the whole 60 day thing...I never really have. Still, I'm pretty sure that's what he said. That or "6 weeks", which would be 42 days. Who knows.

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