Atomic glowring
It would be awesome if you had actual rings. That would make decoder rings like toys for kids ;)
The news last week that El Reg merchandising tentacle Cash'n'Carrion had sourced new tritium-powered glowrings prompted some atomic-powered nostalgia from those readers who'd bought the original Traser. Way back in 2002, we laid our hands on a big batch of these novelty keyrings, and promptly shifted thousands of them. No …
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I was reading an article recently that suggested that there is no such primary colour as violet, contrary to Newton's belief. The response of the human eye doesn't show any change other than amplitude at the blue end, and (presumably for evolutionary reasons) the RGB at the eye is turned into two channels to the brain: blue -yellow and red -green. (An intelligent designer would not design it like this, but evolution doesn't necessarily create optimal results. Octopus eyes are in some ways better designed than people eyes.)
What we perceive as violet is therefore likely to be a combination of blue and red, i.e. the transmitted version of purple (which is a reflected colour.) That would agree with your post.
Why did Newton see violet in the rainbow? It's argued that his perception was influenced by the secondary bow above the primary, so that there is a red band adjacent to the blue of the primary.
(Also Newton had a lot of alchemical ideas and wanted seven colours because seven is a magic number). On strictly perceptual grounds the only colours in the rainbow should be red, yellow, green and blue with orange being identified as a distinct colour because in the red/yellow/green band we are more sensitive to colour differences than at the green/blue end.
Most "blue" flowers photgraph as purple or violet (or at least they did on good old film). I believe it's down to attracting insects which have a different visible light range to humans.
Lithospermum was one of the few that looked the same to the human eye in real ire as on film.
"Most "blue" flowers photgraph as purple or violet (or at least they did on good old film)."
It depended on the film. Kodachrome had quite a lot of sensitivity in the IR and quite a lot of blue flowers reflected IR. As a result light blue flowers turned out pink. Ektachrome was much better for flower photography.
Citizen,
Please report your clone to reprocessing for possession of knowledge above your security clearance grade (for surely you are merely Orange).
Remember: The computer is your friend!
(Ah - Paranoia. One of the few RPGs better(best!) played when not of entirely a sober nature..)
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The price has certainly doubled since their introduction, I seem to recall paying about £6 each for my pair somewhere in the region of 15 years ago:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2002/11/21/light_up_your_life/
A shame because I'd definitely buy a couple of normal sized ones now if they were £5 each, at £10.99 my wallet is staying put.
I was lucky when I went ot the US with one of the original batch -- I'm assuming the bright lights of Orlando Airport meant that the TSA didn't notice I was carrying a source of nukiller radiation or I might have been arrested as a turrist.
This was in September 2002 too so security was stepped right up. So much so that while we were there I saw a report that a woman was detained by the TSA for carrying her partner's (not sure whether it was her husband or not) federal issue firearm. Trouble was -- they did so after she had already flown...
I treated myself to a Traser watch, some years back. It has 14 of those tiny glass tritium/phosphor tubes on the hour marks and main hands. The 12 o'clock mark has orange phosphor while the others are green.
Forking out eighty-odd squids was a bit of a leap, as all previous my watches had been under a tenner. Still, it really does the business; perfectly findable and readable in those wee hours.
One day, of course, it'll just be a watch.
Saw these back in stock and ordered four units. White, Ice Blue, and two UV. Arrived today.
Do not be fooled into thinking they look anything like the brightness in the pictures, you're in for a big disappointment if you do.
"Can be seen from 30 feet away" - with night vision goggles maybe.
Honestly gutted...
The folks in Fukushima Daiichi seem to have an overabundance of tritium on their hands:
http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/RS-Japan_seeks_outside_help_for_contaminated_water-2609134.html
Perhaps the production of these keychains could be increased, as well as their brightness?