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After spending months trying and testing different formulae in his Goregaon laboratory, Madhav Sawant has invented what he likes to call 'light-emitting paint'. The 47-year-old mechanical engineer has been busy demonstrating his invention in dark rooms. "After absorbing incident light (light from surroundings) for two hours, this painted wall can emit light for eight hours,'' he says, pointing to a glowing wall coated with the invisible paint. At Rs 230 to Rs 800 per sq ft, the paintis manufactured from earth minerals and according to Sawant serves a dual purpose—disaster management and energy conservation.
Organisations like Mumbai's World Trade Centre have expressed an interest in the product because of its disaster-management properties. "Aisles, underground car parks and stairways can be marked with it so that in an emergency, when there is a power outage, people have a light backup,'' says Sawant.
One of the first steps of disaster management is switching off electricity after which visibility becomes a major problem. During 9/11, the lights went out after the first tower was hit, but 18,000 people were successfully evacuated in less than two hours because of the photo-luminescent directional signage systems that led them to the exit route. It inspired Sawant to create a similar paint.
Even Thane Municipal Corporation's city engineer K D Lala wants Vitava Tunnel and Mumbra flyover to get the safety stroke of paint. "Light from the headlights of cars will charge the paint and it will in turn give out light,'' says Lala.
The tile project, funded by the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research and National Research Development Corporation, is in its initial stages. Sawant along with a few scientists is studying the possibility of developing wall tiles shaped to emit concentrated light. "After being charged, the wall tiles should be able to illuminate a room to even assist reading,'' explains Sawant who wants to do his bit to save energy.
Last year, Sawant invented a water-carrying vessel for village women called the jalpari which distributes the weight of the vessel on both shoulders.
Organisations like Mumbai's World Trade Centre have expressed an interest in the product because of its disaster-management properties. "Aisles, underground car parks and stairways can be marked with it so that in an emergency, when there is a power outage, people have a light backup,'' says Sawant.
One of the first steps of disaster management is switching off electricity after which visibility becomes a major problem. During 9/11, the lights went out after the first tower was hit, but 18,000 people were successfully evacuated in less than two hours because of the photo-luminescent directional signage systems that led them to the exit route. It inspired Sawant to create a similar paint.
Even Thane Municipal Corporation's city engineer K D Lala wants Vitava Tunnel and Mumbra flyover to get the safety stroke of paint. "Light from the headlights of cars will charge the paint and it will in turn give out light,'' says Lala.
The tile project, funded by the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research and National Research Development Corporation, is in its initial stages. Sawant along with a few scientists is studying the possibility of developing wall tiles shaped to emit concentrated light. "After being charged, the wall tiles should be able to illuminate a room to even assist reading,'' explains Sawant who wants to do his bit to save energy.
Last year, Sawant invented a water-carrying vessel for village women called the jalpari which distributes the weight of the vessel on both shoulders.
LEAD KINDLY LIGHT:
The invisible paint absorbs light by day and reflects it at night; (left) Madhav Sawant
The invisible paint absorbs light by day and reflects it at night; (left) Madhav Sawant
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