![](http://www.alamy.com/thumbs/6/2F6A4CF7-DB40-4E6E-9E7A-D430E2244F1E/2BK9J4D.jpg)
A photo taken in total darkness of a plastic trinket resembling an elephant. Coated with phosphorescent paint, it glows green in the dark.
This hollow plastic trinket resembling an elephant (!), dates from the 1960s and was probably won at a fairground. The object is painted with phosphorescent paint which, after exposure to light, makes it glow in the dark for a while. The photograph was taken in total darkness, requiring an exposure of about one hour (no ultraviolet), and illustrates it glowing. The only source of light was the object's phosphorescence. Phosphorescence is not to be confused with fluorescence, where substances fluoresce ( glow) only when light falls upon them, or with the glow emanating from certain radioactive substances, tritium. See Alamy 2BK9J1D and 2BK9J73 for a photo of it in daylight.
Size: 4118px × 5616px
Photo credit: © Martin Bond / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: 1960s, afterglow, bauble, childhood, coating, dark, elephant, emissions, fairground, giving, glow, glowing, green, hollow, light, luminescence, luminous, material, object, paint, painted, phosphoresce, phosphorescence, phosphorescent, photoluminescence, plastic, prize, substance, toy, trinket