Glowing Alien in a Jar

I made a couple of these for a Yuri's Night (http://www.yurisnight.net/) party. The alien sits in a glowing liquid and the effect looks pretty cool in a dark room.

The materials required are
1) A jar with a lid that is thick enough to conceal a battery pack and some LEDs
2) Glow water made from florescent dye extracted from a highlighter pen (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTsgPLmli8E)
3) Alien Embryo Growing Pet (http://www.thespacestore.com/alemgrpet.html)
4) 4.5V Battery pack (http://www.instructables.com/id/Making-a-45-volt-battery-pack-from-a-9V-battery/)
5) Protostack half size prototyping board (http://www.protostack.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_2&products_id=3)
6) 2.7 ohm resistor (1W)
7) 6 x High Power Ultra Violet LEDs (http://www.protostack.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=24_30&products_id=36)

Step 1 Grow the alien embryo and immerse it in glow water

Put the alien egg in water for about 3 days. During this time it will break out of its egg to about 3 times its original size.

Fill the jar with the glow water and place the alien embryo inside.

Comments

[internethotspot]

You could use a black light LEDs
http://www.horrorseek.com/home/halloween/wolfstone/Lighting/bltled_BlackLightLED.html
combined with black light dye ($8.)
http://www.glowbottles.com/product.html

Or go with color changing LEDs:
http://hauntmasterproducts.com/19.html

Or multi-LEDs (red) that can be spaced 9" apart (for several jars):
http://hauntmasterproducts.com/7.html

Cool idea - when I get my man cave I'd like to have some glowing stuff :)

[cekpi7]

or black light leds +highlighter fluid

[Wally_Z]

You could add a switch on the side of the jar so you don't have to open up the jar to turn it off. Plus, it will save on battery life. Make sure you waterproof the wiring on the switch, or it will compromise all your hard work.

[flyingfox567]

you know, a better idea may be to make it solar powered, that way the battery wont run out

[YOUgNeek]

Wow, I gotta make one of these!

[lukev2]

you could also do this for a ufo obducting a person..... use a cheap action figure or a lego figure inside and decorate the jar lid to look like an ufo.

[oakironworker]

Great my students will be freaked out
how about a reed switch so when you wave your hand above it it lights up. You could just stick a magnet to the lid when you wanted to turn it on and off.

[DragonX777]

I think those jar are for holding cottonballs that doctors uses, or one of the lab jars they use for studying. take my guess

[LiquidLightning]

Studying what? ALIEN EMBRYOS?

[Krotas]

XD

[solarblade90]

awwwww thats so cute!

[luvit]

these pesky aliens taunt me when i try to sleep. i will make this to scare them off.

[LiquidLightning]

That is an awesome idea. Scare off aliens with baby aliens. 0.o

[CodfishCatfish]

Why not funk it up with EL wires going to the brain or heart keeping it alive with special fluid. Creepy. Another awesome project from another very talented instructable. I wish I had months of spare time to make every project on Instructables.

[lemon rind]

Yeah, the EL would be meanest... great job man.

[nubabuba]

im just gonna put a fake eye or somethin in it. heheehe

[thatgirlmegan]

So are there any alternatives to the highlighter dye? It looks great, but I want to do several and that would take a lot of pens. Thanks

[Scionni]

Awesome instructable! I've lamps like this before in Spencer's, but there's just so much more satisfaction in making your own, you know? Besides. The green glow in your version is consistent, while the Spencer's version had its illumination strictly from the lightsource and not the liquid as well.

Anyways, I've an idea with keeping the alien fetus suspended in a more aesthetic manner. Maybe, while implanting a fishing weight into the bottom, you implant a pocket of air into the top of its head? The fetus will stand upright without having to be attached to any part of the jar, so it could drift and float too.

[monkeymissile]

I wonder if simply using several small "glow sticks" glued to the underside of the cap would also work. Could be a lot less work and completely waterproof.

[skrubol]

Glow sticks won't give the same effect (plus the aforementioned short life) as shining UV light into fluorescent liquid. It may not show well in his photos, but the liquid itself is glowing. The only way to get the same effect with glow sticks would be to cut them open and mix their contents with the water.

[koal1]

glow sticks would give the same effect u just couldnt use a UV light u would need a normal LED that is white and it would still bring out the flourescent glow stick juice thats mixed in with the water

[lasoaaro]

It may work, although Glowsticks only have a Life of about 8 hours Tops, so then after that, you're without the glowsticks, unless you change them every day. This would be rather time consuming, and expensive. LEDs can burn for 100,000 hours before dying, and would run farrr longer than 8 hours on 4.5v.

[GorillazMiko]

How come the lights aren't blue?

[0_Nvd_0]

It's the DYE that converts ULTRA VOILET light into GREEN. I bet you can't see ULTRA VOILET. :)

[Evilthingamabober]

The alien can...

[protostack]

These LEDs have peak output at 390-395 nm which is pretty close to the visible part of the spectrum, so do do get a bit of visible light. Just as well because they are very bright, so if you accidently look at them, at least you get some sort of warning.

[N1CK4ND0]

THEN IT WOULDNT BE AN ALIEN!?! aliens are always green, cmon, watch some sci-fi

[zkemppel]

I'm gonna make one of these, but with a fake baby fetus instead of an alien.

[robotjam]

I made this yesterday and it looks even cooler in person than in the pics, I did however tape a slide switch to the lid. I also made one of these with a skeleton i got from the dollar store, very cool.

[lil jon168]

loli noticed on the box " ages 3 and up"

[MY]

I submitted a product review of the alien baby and included your photo and link. Nice work!

[canno]

try putting different colored/coloured leds
5/5 awesome =D

[Chromatica]

it wouldn't matter as long as the leds are UVs, the color won't appear, only the color of dye (highlighter). For proof of this look at the color of his leds BLUE not green but yet the color is green due to the fact that the dye is green.

[rickyd!]

add a solar panel, some rechargeable batteries and put it outside on the deck

[Iridium7]

sir...I ACCEPT YOUR CHALLENGE!

[craziemutant]

make it your porch light or something. haha. that'd be awesome. dim...but awesome.

[Iridium7]

I ALSO ACCEPT THAT CHALLENGE!

[ElectricUmbrella]

I'm with you, dude!

[Iridium7]

THANKS!

[Stephen304]

Haha, freak out the neighbors.