Automotive

Glow-in-the-dark Nissan Leaf looks electric

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Nissan has created a glow-in-the-dark Leaf
Nissan has created a glow-in-the-dark Leaf
The glow-in-the-dark paint was created by Hamish Scott
The glow-in-the-dark paint is entirely organic
Scott says he sees a lot of potential safety uses for the glow-in-the-dark paint
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Nissan has received lots of good press for its Leaf electric car, but the reviews for one in particular are glowing. The car has been given a paint job that appears normal in the light, but glows green in the dark. The glow-in-the-dark paint is said to be made up of entirely organic materials.

According to Nissan, drivers of the all-electric Leaf are increasingly installing solar panels at home and charging their cars for free. The glow-in-the-dark Leaf is aimed at drawing attention to this. The car was designed in partnership with inventor Hamish Scott, who previously created the Starpath glow-in-the-dark spray-on coating for footpaths and roads.

Although he keeps the make-up of his product close to his chest, Scott tells Gizmag that the paint for the car contains much the same ingredients as his Starpath spray. Amongst the active ingredients in the paint is strontium aluminate, a solid, odorless and chemically and biologically inert compound that is widely used in glow-in-the-dark materials. The paint absorbs UV energy when it is light and can glow for between eight and 10 hours in the dark.

Scott says he had been working on a version of his coating to use on cars prior to being approached by Nissan. In total, he reckons it took about 12 months to develop the final product. "If you walked up and touched the car it would feel exactly like a car paint," he says.

Scott says he sees a lot of potential safety uses for the glow-in-the-dark paint

He also sees a host of potential safety uses for the coating, such as to improve visibility of bikes and boats. "This is no gimmick," says Scott. "This is a serious technology that is going to be used in an awful lot of places."

Although third-party companies can give cars glow-in-the-dark spray-jobs, Nissan says it is the first car manufacturer to directly apply such technology. If the paint were made commercially available, the company says it would have a lifespan of 25 years.

The video below shows the Nissan Leaf in all its glowing glory.

Source: Nissan, Hamish Scott

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7 comments
Onihikage
Brilliant. I've always thought that the best way to improve nighttime visibility of motor vehicles is by making them glow all over, whether that meant LED strips along the seams or glowing paint. Granted, this is a marketing trick, but it would have the same effect.
Peter Kelly
This is a fine idea and probably very useful, up to a point, but given that anything that attracts attention these days usually attracts its fair share of unwanted attention, I would give one of these about ten seconds outside the house before it has a set of keys down the side or a brick on the bonnet.
Sad, but until this behaviour is properly addressed I don't think we'll see any soon. If we do, though, it will be like the stainless steel DeLorean and have owners rushing for a new paint job as soon as they find out how much of a pain living with it is.
christopher
I bought a couple of those "glows for 10 hours" things a year or so back - they glow for about 10 minutes only.
Cyndysub
Great things will be coming from Nissan. There is a new tec on light that will beat LEDs for efficiency and light output that will be a great match for use in electric cars where the electric efficiency will be of great importance. There is also a combination electric motor and ac compressor that would also be great in an electric car. Add a NuVinci transmission and new tech battery and you would have the perfect electric car.
Buzzclick
After a year or so, will the glow-in-the-dark effect still be as effective? Does it have enough UV protection to last? Is this just another gimmick?
After all, we already have lights that glow in the dark :)
Dirk Scott
There"s an e-ink bracelet. How about an e-ink car?
Carlo Trivellone
Good Morning, it is always a pleasure to read topics relating to road safety and energy savings. I wanted to point out that the invention of this type of paint can not be attributed to Mr. Hamish Scott as these products are already existing since 2008. Made in Italy by Quantum NRJ Ltd. (www.quantumnrj.com) under the trade name of Light-Inside, are used in the automotive industry for the production of helmets (Suomi), cars (Fiat 500 Abarth) and prototypes (Bertone Pandion). Based aluminates are free of heavy metals and comply with all applicable safety and health at work. It will be my pleasure to receive your feedback and send the technical documentation and photographs relating to photoluminescent coating
Regards