Glow Sticks Under Water?

[olds]

Do glow sticks work under water? If they leak, do they cause stains? We are thinking of putting them in our concrete fountain for ambiance during a party but don't want to make a mess. TIA

 

[kgraeme]

Yes they work. They're commonly sold to divers.

 

[HappyPuppy]

I'm pretty sure they will float and they were not manufactured to leak. Anything can happen, though.

 

[bubbadu]

i have no clue... just a bit of warning... my dad used to sell those for his job, and i cut one open one night and spilled all over my pillow
... i would say that its pretty toxic and not to be messed with..

-Bubbadu

 

[HappyPuppy]

Originally posted by: bubbadu
i have no clue... just a bit of warning... my dad used to sell those for his job, and i cut one open one night and spilled all over my pillow
... i would say that its pretty toxic and not to be messed with..

-Bubbadu

How is it toxic?

 

[Evadman]

Originally posted by: bubbadu
i have no clue... just a bit of warning... my dad used to sell those for his job, and i cut one open one night and spilled all over my pillow
... i would say that its pretty toxic and not to be messed with..

-Bubbadu

most are safe enough to eat.

 

[zippy]

Hehe. Well, they won't leak - it is VERY thick plastic and it needs to be considering the chemical that is in the glass tube that you break when you snap the glow stick. The chemical in that tube is toxic, but it won't kill you since children use glow sticks and chew on them sometimes. The chemical in that glass tube stains plastic if that is any indication of what it will do and I believe it can slowly dissolve certain other plastics. However, the other liquid that is simply in the plastic tube when you buy the glow stick is hydrogen peroxide in some kind of oil that makes it a bit viscous (I don't know why they do that).

Basically, as long as you aren't cutting them open with sharp, strong scissors and pouring them into your fountain, don't worry about it. You won't have any problems and it will look very cool!

BTW, yes, as someone mentioned, they are sold to divers.

I don't know if it is a semi-local store or not, but Chase Pitkin has some good glow sticks for a reasonable price. Very bright and long lasting. I think they are only in neon green or orange though. However, there are places that sell red, blue, etc.

Enjoy.

 

[bubbadu]

i was under the impression that the acutal glow goo substance was toxic... maybe not.... i couldnt see how it would be good for you though

-Bubbadu

 

[kgraeme]

Originally posted by: HappyPuppy

Originally posted by: bubbadu
i have no clue... just a bit of warning... my dad used to sell those for his job, and i cut one open one night and spilled all over my pillow
... i would say that its pretty toxic and not to be messed with..

-Bubbadu

How is it toxic?

You haven't seen his picture yet. It was on his pillow, which he slept on, and it changed him into a freaky mutant. Turned his head inside out! Now his brain is on the outside and he makes money by shopping himself out for psychology test since they don't have to drill through the skull to put in all those probes.

 

[Brutuskend]

Originally posted by: kgraeme

Originally posted by: HappyPuppy

Originally posted by: bubbadu
i have no clue... just a bit of warning... my dad used to sell those for his job, and i cut one open one night and spilled all over my pillow
... i would say that its pretty toxic and not to be messed with..

-Bubbadu

How is it toxic?

You haven't seen his picture yet. It was on his pillow, which he slept on, and it changed him into a freaky mutant. Turned his head inside out! Now his brain is on the outside and he makes money by shopping himself out for psychology test since they don't have to drill through the skull to put in all those probes.

SWEET Send me one of those things, I can ALLWAYS use some extra cash!!!

 

[MacBaine]

Originally posted by: bubbadu
i was under the impression that the acutal glow goo substance was toxic... maybe not.... i couldnt see how it would be good for you though

-Bubbadu

The only harm that comes from breaking one open is from all the broken glass shards that are inside. When you snap them, you are breaking a thin glass tube that mixes the chemicals. Other than that they aren't harmful. We broke a bunch of them open once for my school's drumline and poured them on the heads before marching out into a dark gymnasium. Cool effect, but one oter word of warning... the glow goo SMELLS LIKE ASS AND IT NEVER GOES AWAY!

 

[Garion]

My wife got a glowstick at a party (one of the long thin necklace kind) and when we went to bed, our cat bit through the plastic and must have eaten some. We woke to her howling at about 2 AM and when we went out to the living room, the floor was glowing and she was frothing at the mouth. My wife tried to convince me that it was an acid, so we should try to shove some crackers down her throat. A cat that started grumpy is frothing at the mouth and you want me to feed it crackers? I don't think so!

In any case, we called the vet, and he said "if it hasn't died by now, it's probably going to be fine, just let it sleep and if it's still sick in the morning, bring it in." She was fine by morning, so we moved in.

- G

 

[kgraeme]

Originally posted by: MacBaine
the glow goo SMELLS LIKE ASS AND IT NEVER GOES AWAY!

Not getting many dates these days, eh?

 

[olds]

Thanks.
Glow sticks it is.

 

[frizzlefry]

We use them for pier fishing. Non toxic. Read the label. They sink. They kind of work like sinkers for when we fish

 

[Angrymarshmello]

They're pretty thick plastic so they're really hard to break open. If they do though the surface it gets on will glow for years. (My bathroom water faucet handles glowed for years after I managed to get one of them open and got it all over it)

 

[flavio]

I've been to a few concerts where they have been ripped open and dripped all over a bunch of people including me. No harm done.

 

The chemical reaction in a light stick usually involves several different steps. A typical commercial light stick holds a hydrogen peroxide solution and a solution containing a phenyl oxalate ester and a fluorescent dye. Here's the sequence of events when the two solutions are combined:

The hydrogen peroxide oxidizes the phenyl oxalate ester, resulting in a chemical called phenol and an unstable peroxyacid ester.
The unstable peroxyacid ester decomposes, resulting in additional phenol and a cyclic peroxy compound.
The cyclic peroxy compound decomposes to carbon dioxide.
This decomposition releases energy to the dye.
The electrons in the dye atoms jump to a higher level, then fall back down, releasing energy in the form of light.
The light stick itself is just a housing for the two solutions


If you want to clearly see the effects of chemilumenesence, take a light stick, activate it and submerged it in hot water.
The increased temp will make the stick glow very brightly, this is from the increased chemical activity within the tube.

 

[B00ne]

they will work as they work in a chemical way. And they dont leak otherwise they couldnt be sold as the chemical inside is probably not exactly healthy. But I suspect u have to tie them down, there is a little bit of air in them and I guess they float...

 

[fr]

In Tomb Raider, they have no problem working under water.

 

[Analog]

they are encapsulated.

 

[Eli]

They're non toxic.

 

[ChrisIsBored]

When I went night diving someone cut one open in the ocean and it spread all over the place. Pretty cool effect when you can't really see anything but whatever your flashlight is shining on.