All-organic, optically clear, radioluminescent lights

We describe the development of the first all-organic, opitcally clear, radioluminescent (RL) light. Although gas-phase RL lights have been known for many years, a number of advantages accrue to solid state devices. These include greater ruggedness and ease of brightness scale-up. In our systems, tritium is covalently bound to an organic getter, which is dissolved in an organic monomer, along with appropriate scintillating dyes. The entire system cures by monomer polymerization due to the radiation field, resulting in a clear, glowing solid plastic block. We outline here the design considerations employed in producing these materials. 12 refs., 1 fig.