RP164 Concrete's Glowing Future

 RP164 Concrete's Glowing Future

We can all agree that concrete buildings are almost universally ugly. Concrete may be a cheap and convenient building material, but it's not going to win any beauty contests. That, however, could be about to change. A Mexican scientist named José Carlos Rubio Avalos has invented a type of concrete that, amazingly, glows in the dark!

Avalos accomplished this by inserting cells that absorb light into cement, a key ingredient in concrete. By day the concrete absorbs light, and when the sun goes down it begins to glow. It's said to work even on cloudy days. Currently, Avalos's concrete can emit blue or green light, but he's working on versions that will glow white, red, and even purple.

Avalos's invention has city governments and architects very excited. Having glowing buildings could save cities millions of dollars on electricity. And architects will have a whole new visual tool to experiment with. Can you imagine how beautiful the buildings of the future might be, covered in glowing rainbow patterns?

There is, however, one problem: the cost. Glow-in-the-dark concrete is currently five times more expensive to produce than regular concrete. But there is no need to build an entire building out of glowing concrete. Instead, existing Avalos's concrete can emit either blue or green light structures could be coated with a thin layer of Avalos's special material. This would make creating a glow-in-the-dark building a lot cheaper. But how often, you might ask, would you have to reapply the concrete? Would it be worth the cost and the effort? Fear not! According to Avalos, his concrete can retain its glowing effect for around a hundred years! That's free light for a century! Thanks to José Avalos, the future of concrete looks very bright indeed.