UltraViolet Gas

I just hit on a possible brainstorm for a neat Halloween project. But
I need help from a chemistry expert to pull it off.

What I want is a gas that fluoresces under ultraviolet light. My idea
is to use an ultra violet emitting LED (and battery, of course) and
hide it in the cap of a large jar. Next I want to fill the jar with a
gas so that it fluoreses and the whole thing glows when the LED is on.
I want to call this a GHOST IN THE JAR and place them in various
locations on my porch this halloween. The LED circuit is not a
problem; that I can do. But what gas (non toxic) can I use that glows
under "black light"? I know they sell refrigerants with UV dye so
that you can tell where leaks are at in an air conditioner system. So
I know some gases can be made to glow under UV light. I DO NOT want
to use the refrigerant as you cannot release this into the atmosphere.
Any ideas for a simple reaction that will produce a UV gas that can
be captured into a jar? If it looks real enough, I may consider using
something like a "water cooler" sized jug.

"Jolly Roger" <[Only registered users see links. ]> wrote in message
news:7408029d.0308191425.6cd1df35@posting.google.c om...

You can't compare the uv dye used in refrigerants, as it is dissolved in the
liquefied part of the "gas" not the vapour. I'd be surprised if there is a
non-toxic, non-flammable gas which does what you want but I look forward to
reading other responses.

Good luck

Barry Hunt

As another replier said, it's unlikely that you'll find a gas that will do
what you want. However, if you're doing this inside glass jars, you might
consider simply coating the insde of the glass with something fluorescent.
It'll look like it's inside the jar. Maybe something like fluorescein (I
believe that's the fluorescent dye that's used in glycol engine coolant).
Glass isn't completely opaque to UV, particularly near-UV, and if you just
put a little glycol in the jar, and swirl it to coat the inside of the jar,
you might be able to get enough near-UV through the glass of the jar to get
the effect you want. Or you could put the UV light bulb inside the jar, and
get a really striking effect.

Eric Lucas

"Jolly Roger" <[Only registered users see links. ]> wrote in message
news:7408029d.0308191425.6cd1df35@posting.google.c om...

How about a liquid instead? If you go to [Only registered users see links. ] they
have some good fluorescent powder, I'd try using it in water or oil..
It comes in green and blue so you could get creative.. However there
is a poster that posts to alt.lasers quite often, IMMRSTO I think??
He's always posting about some dye he is selling on e-bay, it's
supposed to fluoresce with laser light, don't quite know what it is
but you may look into that.. Other than that, if try using that
powder from unitednuclear.com I would possibly try using something
similar to the lava lamp setup but with two non-hemogenous substances
that much closer in specfic gravity.. Any suggestions guys?

Have fun, Be safe, and scare those poor children to death..
Cory B.

[Only registered users see links. ] (Jolly Roger) wrote in message news:<7408029d.0308191425.6cd1df35@posting.google. com>...

Jolly Roger ([Only registered users see links. ]) wrote:
: I just hit on a possible brainstorm for a neat Halloween project. But
: I need help from a chemistry expert to pull it off.

How about filling the jar with the white powder from the inside of a
fluorescent light bulb? You can put a small electric fan on the bottom,
hidden by the lid, and it will swirl the fluorescent powder around.

You could do it with laundry detergent as well. The "super whitening"
kinds contain fluorescent whiteners, and you wouldn't have to bust open a
fluorescent light bulb.

--
--
William "Dave" Thweatt
Robert E. Welch Postdoctoral Fellow
Chemistry Department
Rice University
Houston, TX
[Only registered users see links. ]
[Only registered users see links. ]