What happens to glow in the dark toys if you keep them in the dark for long?
I just bought a glow in the dark plush. Technically I purchased it on November 29th but arrived today. The plush came in a draw string nylon bag. I was wondering what will happen to the phosphors which make the glow in the dark possible if I kept the plush in said draw string nylon bag for a long period of time? As far as my testing is concerned, the bag doesn’t let light through as if I was to keep the plush outside in my room, under the florescent light bulb. there were two of them within the package which was shipped to my country, and my address. I took both of them out and fluffed and kept under my florescent tube light bulb. to see what will happen tonight. After that I was thinking that I’ll keep the plush in the draw string nylon bag until my living situation changes. This explanation might differed from the question I asked but ’tis is related to the question.
– Asked by Nazeeh via the ask a science question page.
Nothing really happens to the phosphors if the glow in the dark toys are just sitting in the dark. They don’t degrade simply by being stored without light. The phosphor molecules are stable at room temperature. The only thing is (since they’re not being “charged” by light) they won’t glow when you pull them out. But once you expose them again to a light source, they’ll recharge and glow just as before. So no harm done.
You can leave the toy under fluorescent light tbh. Over years of repeated exposure, though, there can be some gradual degradation. UV light in particular can slowly break down the crystal structure or the polymer that binds the phosphor to the toy. But for a plush kept indoors under a fluorescent bulb, it’s almost a negligible process. It will take years before you’d notice dimmer glow.