Manchester (England, England) - It seems the Brits have developed a glow-in-the-dark textile yarn which runs on batteries.  The material is designed to be incorporated into jogger's clothes, cyclists, outdoor workers, and really anyone who has a need to be seen in the dark.

The yarn is a multi-layer electroluminescent thin film composite material made of regular yarn on the inside dipped in a special light-emitting ink.  All of that is encapsulated inside a transparent insulating layer with strategic vias (holes) placed into it.  Then the whole thing is wrapped by a final outer layer of yarn.  When battery power is applied, electricity flows through the yarn and ink, creating an electric field which illuminates wherever the outer and inner yarn layers touch.

Dubbed electroluminescent yarn, or "EL yarn," other potential applications include being woven into novelty items for writing, such as "Go Colts!", as well as cloth-based street signs and emergency uses.  Dr Tilak Dias, Head of the William Lee Innovation Centre (WLIC) in Manchester University's School of Materials, said, "At the moment the EL yarn we have developed is less flexible than conventional yarns.  But it is more flexible than current optical fibres that are incorporated within fabrics to provide illumination."  These include a current on-the-market product called "glow yarn."







When asked about the research team's effort in developing this product, Dr. Dias said "they'll all receive glowing reviews from me."

Wash with like colors, don't tumble dry...

Oct 26, 2007 15:12     

Wonder how it does in the wash, it's not like the construction workers who would use it wouldn't also need to wash it from time to time. Dry cleaning isn't just for the business suit guys anymore...
Henrik report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Well You can't smoke in some bars

Oct 26, 2007 15:19     

Well You can't smoke in some bars but now i have to worry about going blind in a club. could you imagine walking in to a room with like 300 people wearing battery powered clothes in one room. who needs light when you can just switch on you underwear to light up the tolet to take a piss. no girl will ever complain again about celaning the tolet cause "you didn't see it, it was to dark".
Metzman007 report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Road signs

Oct 26, 2007 16:19     

You should create glowing road signs. This yarn can be used to draw the outline.
Alex K report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Why

Oct 26, 2007 16:35     

didn't they ever feature this on star trek???
ikkeman report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

When is this going to be available?

Oct 27, 2007 09:39     

I actually bought an EL wifi detector T-shirt recently and would love something without a big plastic patch on it that this would provide.
Steve report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Because

Oct 27, 2007 10:06     

they already have it in tron!!!
clefranc report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

RE: road signs

Oct 28, 2007 23:13     

Certainly, we can come up with something more durable than yarn for outdoor signs. Say, perhaps, lights?
rebturtle report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Hikers, Joggers and Bicyclists plus

Oct 29, 2007 09:31     

It would be great for hikers, joggers and bicyclists. It could help them be seen at night so cars won't hit them. It could help rescurers find someone who is lost. Perhaps it would make a scarry halloween costume or make one that is safer since it can be seen. It would make creating your own Tron outfit easier. :)
TomLeeM/BigWarpGuy report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0