First you’re taught that light is wave. Then you get a little older and your teacher explains that it’s actually particles called photons. Wait, which is it then? Particles? Waves? Both? Neither? This video should help explain. More »
If you’re like me, you probably spend way too much time staring at a computer screen. There are some ways to reduce eyestrain, but I have to say that using IKEA’s Dioder LED light strips is one of the most effective since it’s kind of a low-tech, low-cost way of hacking your monitor into a Philips Ambilight.
IKEA Hacker Skipernicus did this, by mounting the $30 Dioder lights on the back of his monitor. He used an Ergotron arm to prop his monitor up, but this should work with any type of monitor, including HDTVs. He also Velcroed the controller the back of the monitor, for easy access, and zip-ties were used to connect the wiring to the monitor arm.
While they won’t match the on-screen colors like an actual Ambilight, the Dioder strips can cycle through colors, and the the backlighting can reduce eyestrain, which is definitely a plus.
And for those of you who are more electronically-inclined, there actually is a color-matching hack available here.
[via Ikeahackers]
If you’re going to be wandering through test chambers all alone, you’re going to want to have a companion, right? While you could go with an ordinary Weighted Companion Cube, why not get one that lights up, just in case the lights go out?
This cute little Companion Cube will accompany you through the darkest of nights, and it will never threaten to stab you. This 2-inch aluminum and plexiglas cube is made by Nathan Van Kampen, and is guaranteed to illuminate – at least until you toss it into a fire to be euthanized.
It measures approximately 2″ x 2″ x 2″, and is lit by an LED and a coin-cell battery inside. You can grab your own Lighted Companion Cube over on Etsy for $15(USD). Just don’t let GLaDOS see you walking around with it.
With the future of reading heading squarely in the direction of electronic devices, what to do with the old timey book form? Build a lamp, of course. During a recent visit to the City by the Bay, we popped into the TechShop hackerspace and were introduced to Max Gunawan, the designer behind Lumio (not to be confused with a certain smartphone line of similar name). The product, developed in that very space, offers up a cool take on the desktop lamp, fitting it into a wooden, old timey-looking book form. Open it up and the pages fan out into what looks like a paper lantern.
It’s an LED light powered by a lithium ion battery that’ll give you around eight hours on a charge. Due to the foldable nature of the Lumio, the device is portable and can be opened into a number of configurations, to suit your needs. Gunawan is a couple of days away from launching a Kickstarter page for the project, in hopes of getting together $60,000. Interested funders will be able to pick one up for around $95 — wait for it to come to market, and that price will jump to around $125 or $135.
After the break, check out a video of Gunawan giving us the lowdown on Lumio.
Source: Hello Lumio
We recently saw research that suggested negative radiation pressure in light could lead to a practical tractor beam. A partnership between the Czech Republic’s Institute of Scientific Instruments and Scotland’s University of St. Andrews can show that it’s more than just theory: the two have successfully created an optical field that flipped the usual pressure and started pulling objects toward the light. Their demo only tugged at the particle level — sorry, no spaceships just yet — but it exhibited unique properties that could be useful here on Earth. Scientists discovered that the pull is specific to the size and substance of a given object, and that targets would sometimes reorganize themselves in a way that improved the results. On the current scale, that pickiness could lead to at least medicinal uses, such as sorting cells based on their material. While there’s more experiments and development to go before we ever see a tractor beam at the hospital, the achievement brings us one step closer to the sci-fi future we were always told we’d get, right alongside the personal communicators and jetpacks.
Via: BBC
Source: University of St. Andrews, Nature
The three coloured jets aren’t what they seem. They look like fluids dyed different colours mixing to make a clear liquid. But all the water is clear: the colour comes from red, green and blue lasers. This photo won Alexander Albrecht of the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque first prize in the 2012 After Image photo contest run by Optics & Photonics News. More »
Metamaterials are proving to be quite useful for toying with the electromagnetic spectrum, whether for technology previously thought to be the stuff of science fiction, or for boring real-world applications. Engineers at Duke University have come up something that falls more into the latter category: a metamaterial imaging sensor that doesn’t require a lens to generate a picture. The sensor is a flexible copper-plated sheet patterned with small squares that capture various light frequencies all at once, functioning like one big aperture. Add a few circuits with a pinch of software and the sensor-only camera can produce up to ten images per second, but the catch is Duke’s only works at microwave frequencies. Microwave imaging is used plenty, however, and due to its flexibility and lack of moving parts, the sensor could be used to build better integrated, cheaper airport scanners and vehicle collision avoidance technology — making you safer however you choose to travel. Unless you take the train. Then you’re on your own.
Filed under: Misc, Transportation, Science, Alt
Via: Phys.org
Source: Science, Duke University
Nope, this isn’t a UFO, it’s a functional modern art installation that was installed in the atrium of the Level Shoe District, a 96,000 sq. ft. footwear emporium, situated within the Dubai Mall. Of course, something this extravagant would only be in a shoe store in Dubai.
The sculpture, called “Fragment” is a 25-foot-high structure composed of 421 octahedron frames. It was developed by United Visual Artists, and the entire framework was designed to channel light downwards from the glass ceiling above to illuminate the interior during the daytime. When it’s dark, the structure also casts light from hundreds of integrated fluorescent tubes.
It’s definitely an impressive lighting fixture, if you can call it that, though I wouldn’t want to have to change a bulb in it when it burns out.
[via designboom]
For those who are always in need of a little light while camping, we have just the device for you. MpowerD has introduced a solar-powered lantern they’re calling Luci. Luci is “the little solar lantern with a big impact” and we’re actually really liking this neat idea. Essentially this is a fully waterproof and lightweight lantern that only needs the sun for a charge, and will last up to 12 hours.
Luci is unique and what the company calls “solar justice” and the reason behind that is many solar devices don’t seem to work as advertized, or always take forever to charge. MpowerD’s little lantern is only about 5-6 inches tall, and almost something you’d find floating in the pool during the summer months. For those granola types who are always out camping, you’ll want to check this out.
Luci puts out 1200 lumens of bright light using LEDs, and will last anywhere from 8-12 hours depending on charge. Using a few extremely durable and lightweight solar panels you’ll have a full 8-12 hours of light in just 4 hours charge time. Take it camping and charge her up at night, then use Luci to keep camp bright all night long. With a clear plastic round design the light emits in all directions, and Luci states she’ll brighten a 15 square foot area for hours.
“Just charge in the sun, open, and light up your world.”
MpowerD’s new little lantern that is powered by the sun has a few awesome things going for it. It’s extremely lightweight, durable, and completely collapsible to be under an inch tall and smaller than your hand. Then open it up and light up your world — as they say. For the low price of $15.99 Luci can be lighting up your campsite all summer long. It features low, high, and SOS emergency settings with the touch of a button. I’ll be taking this little lantern on a few mountain bike trips this summer. That is for sure.
MpowerD Solar-powered waterproof Lantern hands-on is written by Cory Gunther & originally posted on SlashGear.
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It might sound funny when you hear about some poor commuter getting stuck in the door of the subway, but it’s actually pretty dangerous. I know I wouldn’t want it to happen to me.
It’s something that can potentially happen to any one of us – especially on a crowded train – and designer Hyun Ju Park thinks he can tackle it with his Subway Signal Light concept.
Basically, it involves the installation of an illuminated indicator on the subway door to give passengers a visual warning of when they should board the train, when they should hurry, and when they should just wait for the next one. It uses the familiar green means “go”, yellow means “slow down” “hurry up” and red means “stop” color scheme.
It’s easy to ‘read’ and interpret the warnings and the slim, modern design doesn’t look half bad, either.
There’s still room for improvement but I’d really like to see signs like these up and running on public transportation soon. What do you think?
[via Yanko Design]
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