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Radioluminescent paint is a self-luminous paint that consists of a small amount of a radioactive isotope (radionuclide) mixed with a radioluminescent phosphor chemical. The radioisotope continually decays, emitting radiation particles which strike molecules of the phosphor, exciting them to emit visible light.
Radium was used to make self-luminous paint from the early 20th century to about 1970. Promethium briefly replaced radium as a radiation source. Tritium is the only radiation source used in radioluminescent light sources today due to its low radiological toxicity and commercial availability.
It is used on wristwatch faces, gun sights, and emergency exit signs. The tritium gas is contained in a small glass tube, coated with a phosphor on the inside. Beta particles emitted by the tritium strike the phosphor coating and cause it to fluoresce , emitting light, usually yellow-green.
F27 Sights, rocking-bar (all types) – Parts and equipment; F28 Sight, M1901 (French) F29 Sight, M1916, for 75 mm Gun M1916 – Parts and equipment; F30 Sight, telescopic, 2.24-inch (6 Pdr.) tank gun, Mk.II (British) -Parts and equipment; F31 Sight, M1916, telescopic, 37mm gun, M1916 – Parts and equipment, 18 October 1926
The Welrod is provided with sights marked with luminescent paint for use in low-light conditions. [1] The Mk I manual states: "It is accurate up to 30 yd (27 m) in daylight or 20 yd (18 m) on a fairly light night but is most effective when fired in contact with the target". [9]
The first ACOG model, known as the TA01, was released in 1987. [3] [4] An example was tested on the Stoner 93 in the early 1990s by the Royal Thai Armed Forces. [5]In 1995, United States Special Operations Command selected the 4×32 TA01 as the official scope for the M4 carbine and purchased 12,000 units from Trijicon. [6]
The invention of black light paint is attributed to brothers Joseph and Robert Switzer in the 1930s. After a fall, Robert suffered a severe head injury that resulted in a severed optic nerve. His doctor confined him to a dark room while he waited for his sight to recover.
November 1917 ad for an Ingersoll "Radiolite" watch, one of the first watches mass marketed in the USA featuring a radium-illuminated dial. Radium was discovered by Marie and Pierre Curie in 1898 [1] and was soon combined with paint to make luminescent paint, which was applied to clocks, airplane instruments, and the like, to be able to read them in the dark.