Radium is a material that can potentially glow for over 1,600 years which is around the half-life of the material wherein which the luminescence begins to dim. Watches were using radium as lume until the 1960s. Let’s focus on how the light was created and used in watchmaking as well as how the different methods of creating photons compare to one another in the luminescent material found on a watch. Photons are generally created when an electron spinning around an atom absorbs a photon and gets excited, once it calms down to a ground state, it releases a photon which we perceive as a phenomenon that we call light.īut let’s not get too distracted with light or quantum science. A photon is a stable particle that has no mass or electric charge and it travels at the speed of light. Light is a form of energy that materializes on the electromagnetic field as an elementary particle known as a photon which is a quantum particle of the EM field. How do luminescent watches work? In this article, we will answer all these questions and describe the various chemical processes which were used over the years by watchmakers to make things like hands, dials, numerals, hour markers, and more glow in the dark. For your convenience, we have made a chart that shows the difference. Which watch has the brightest Lume? There are various degrees of brightness and colors used.Read a bit about the different types of lume used throughout the history of the watch industry. Throughout the years, the watch industry has tried several different types of lume. What is the Lume on a watch made of? It can be made of various things.Some watchmakers paint a thin layer of lume on a watch and some will use multiple layers to make it not only shine brighter but also last longer. It also depends on how much of the lume is used. How long does watch luminescence last? It depends on which of the various different types of lume is used.How does Lume work on a watch work? Depending on the type of lume used it can function differently but in general all lume has certain things about them that can be explained by first understanding a bit about how the science of light works.Today we will explore the jaw-dropping evolution of the luminescent material used in watchmaking over the many years that it has been used in the industry to create luminous watches. The Evolution of Watch Luminescenceįrom the discovery of fire and onward humans have looked for new and improved ways to see things in the dark. Let’s explore the journey it took in watchmaking. The brilliance of watch luminescence has changed over the decades with new and improved glow-in-the-dark material always being invented or innovated. Today, 90% of all watches have luminous hands or dial.The Brilliant Evolution of Watch Luminescence By 1970 it was estimated that there were more than ten million clocks and watches in circulation with radium-lit dials. Not only watches and other instruments but also fishing bait, crucifixes, light switches and countless other applications. Numerous novelties flooded the market in the years after the world war. By the end of World War I, the United States was producing over four million watches with illuminated dials for military use. The army was the first and also the largest customer of radium-lit products. The name was later changed to 'United States Radium Corporation'. It was marketed in 1917 by the Radium Luminous Material Corporation. This paint named ‘Undark’ was a mixture of zinc sulfide and various forms of radioactive radium. Dr Sabin Arnold Von Sochocky developed the first commercial luminous paint. William Hammer was the first person to combine radium, zinc sulfide and glue into a luminous paint. Pierre and Marie Curie discovered radium in 1898 and Marie also discovered that radioactive radiation could make materials glow. The luminous property of the element radium was already known long before it was used in clocks, watches and other instruments.
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