KC Hill
Dexter
Paladin
Craig Hill
Oracle of DelphiIntroducing the Gravity Light
February 20th 2008 00:05
Greener Gadgets Conference
The Bamboo Kinetic Phone - Crazy but interesting
Over on greenergadgets.com they have just had there annual one day conference that includes a design competition. Directly from the sites press page, the winner was:
The EnerJar DIY Energy Meter Kit
Designed by Matt Meshulam and Zach Dwiel
MacGyver enters the energy race
This little downloadable DIY kit uses household materials to monitor and measure the energy output of a variety of everyday devices, allowing the user to take personal responsibility over energy use.
Not bad, I can see the practical uses but the astounding accomplishment that inspired this post is what came in second prize:
The Gravity Based Kinetic Energy Lamp - Gravia
Designed by Clay Moulton
What goes up must come down
Reminiscent of a grandfather clock, this gorgeous floor lamp uses the weight of a hefty component to kinetically power itself.
A light that works on Newton’s primary principle, is there any fuel supply more readily available? So how does it work you may ask, well an interview with the Gravity lights creator Clay Moulton on newswise.com has a few answers.
“The light output will be 600-800 lumens – roughly equal to a 40 watt incandescent bulb over a period of four hours.
To "turn on" the lamp, the user moves weights from the bottom to the top of the lamp. An hour-glass like mechanism is turned over and the weights are placed in the mass sled near the top of the lamp. The sled begins its gently glide back down and, within a few seconds, the LEDs come on and light the lamp, Moulton said. “It’s more complicated than flipping a switch but can be an acceptable, even enjoyable routine, like winding a beautiful clock or making good coffee,” he said.
Moulton estimates that Gravia’s mechanisms will last more than 200 years, if used eight hours a day, 365 days a year. “The LEDs, which are generally considered long-life devices, become short-life components in comparison to the drive mechanisms,” he said.”
Green Cell Battery Cellphone - Not available in Bamboo
The marvel of nature’s invention, leaving these tools for us to play with. Now with the initiative of that whole climate disaster end of the world scenario looming the human race is again striving forward to develop and discover new energy sources that lie above and below this blue planet.
The cynic in me acknowledges the potential to make big bucks out of the added media hype and corporate greed is an epidemic. Still the ends may justify the means. No matter what your stance on climate change less draining of our natural resources guarantees the future stock for many generations.
To strive for alternate fuel and power is an obvious ambition for the human race. Variety and variation inevitably lead to optimising technology. As a gadget lover the idea of my various components and portable devices being able to run on something as simple and cheap as sunlight or in this case, Kinetic energy or gravity, that's invention.
Please visit greenergadgets.com and newswise.com for more information about Clay Moulton and other revolutionary technology.
Here is some footage of the Green Gadgets Awards Ceremony with some stunning innovations.
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