Glow in the Dark Yoyo

Whether you are an expert or a beginner you can learn to do all the classic string tricks on this yoyo. It is great for nighttime performances. This yoyo is available in different colors and makes an excellent gift for kids. You can even make it your own with custom paint. You can buy fluorescent, phosphorescent, and 2-in-1 glow paints online or at most hobby stores that sell paint items like Michaels. Home Depot and Lowe’s also carry fluorescent spray paint that works well for larger scale projects.

Glow in the dark yoyo works by absorbing light and releasing it with very little heat. This is called photoluminescence and it is the same phenomenon that gives fireflies, lightning bugs and angler fish their soft glowing light at night. Glow in the dark products use a special type of inorganic phosphor that absorbs visible and ultra violet light and re-emits it with very little heat. The most common phosphor is zinc sulphide but there are newer chemiluminescent materials that use strontium aluminate which can hold a charge for longer.

One of the best ways to see glow in the dark products is under black light. This special light is invisible to humans but when it reflects off of a fluorescent material it alters the wavelength into something that can be seen and everything seems brighter. This is why you often see neon colored and white stuff glowing under black light such as posters, glow bowling balls, glow pickleball courts, yoyos and other toys and decorations.

Most of these chemiluminescent materials only glow for about half an hour and then they slowly fade. They can be recharged by putting them under ultra violet light again but you may have to do this multiple times to get a long lasting glow. This is why it’s important to only put them in areas where the ambient light won’t interfere with getting a strong glow.