What Is a Glow Stick?
A glow stick is a light that is used to read a scanner. It emits a uniform light across the entire long, thin stick.
An LED is attached to the end of the glow stick to serve as the light source. The light is reflected by a transparent resin, which allows the light to shine in 360° in the same direction. There are also glow sticks made of soft material that can be bent.
In the past, halogen lamps and cold cathode fluorescent lamps were used as light sources for glow sticks, but LED light sources are now used for most models due to their low cost and long life.
Uses of Glow Sticks
Glow sticks are mainly used to illuminate the reading area of a scanner. When a scanner reads an image, the light from the glow stick illuminates the document and the reflected light is read by the line sensor. For this reason, a stable illumination with uniformity and minimal luminance irregularities is required.
In addition, glow sticks are used as light guides in various types of automobiles, and are applied to ambient lighting, back lenses of switches, and lenses for information.
Other applications include home appliances, energy-saving lighting, and stairway lighting.
Principle of Glow Sticks
Glow sticks are made of transparent resin as core and cladding materials, and are processed into a linear shape. An LED light source is attached to the end of the glow stick, and the light is reflected efficiently by the inner surface of the resin. The color of the glow stick can be changed by changing the color of the LED light source. The length can be adjusted by cutting with a cutter.
When used as lighting, LED light is highly directional, so the light is adjusted to be gentle to the human eye by changing the brightness and the angle of illumination.
Acrylic resin, which is often used as glow sticks, has excellent heat and weather resistance and can be used both indoors and outdoors. Many specifications can be used underwater or in temperatures ranging from -40°C to 80°C and can withstand long-term use.
When the transparent resin material is polyurethane resin, soft acrylic, etc., it can be bent into an L-shape or U-shape and is resistant to impact.
Glow sticks are increasingly being used as an alternative to conventional optical fiber because of their lower cost and longer life.