As always, the devil is in the details here. Does this lamp produce enough light for a family to be motivated to actually lift it every N minutes (e.g. does it produce enough light to read comfortably, or to cook a meal)? Is it durable enough to survive in essentially outdoors conditions in terms of heat and humidity? If the answers to these questions are positive, it's certainly a great invention. If not, back to the drawing board.
A $5 Lamp Powered Solely by Gravity
41–50 of 91 posts
Re: A $5 Lamp Powered Solely by Gravity
#42I use kerosene lights by choice in the winter in weeks like this one when there is no sunshine. So, here's my firstish world problems take on it. May not apply to people for whom a gallon of kerosine is a significant fraction of their monthly income. I have a hard time seeing myself using something like this, except as task lighting. I'd be fine to have to lift a weight if I was only going to be using the kitchen for…
This idea just hit me, and it's so powerful I'm still reeling. What if someone built a battery-powered weight lifter that would go off every 1/2 hour? You wouldn't have to keep getting up to do it yourself!
Not sure if I should patent this, or just donate it to the greater good of mankind.
Re: A $5 Lamp Powered Solely by Gravity
#43Some people get excited by F1 racing, the Bugatti Veyron, or stuff like the latest iPhone, telling you they are technology enthusiasts or engineering fans. But if you ask me, it's always at the low end of things - like this project - where the really inventive, exciting engineering happening. Sure, something like an F1 car is impressive after a fashion, but considering the price, yeah, well, it better knock my damn s…
You might think it is "truly spectacular" because it is unique to you. But you have to question yourself if it is really THAT effective. One could buy a hand cranked powered led light for cheaper. Sure, it'll take more time to power it. (Few seconds vs a minute). If i could afford neither i would go for the second option.
Re: A $5 Lamp Powered Solely by Gravity
#44I don't quite understand HOW does it turn the weight into energy. Could someone enlighten me?
Re: A $5 Lamp Powered Solely by Gravity
#45Maybe I'm stupid for asking but what is the advantage of this over a spring powered wound clock? My wristwatch can tick for two days on a wind, and while it isn't as cheap as this gravity powered wound clock I'm sure it could be made cheaper. There is nothing special about this invention; purely mechanical "gravity powered" clocks have existed for centuries in the form of old grandfather clocks etc.
Yes, I was thinking the same thing. You can buy now on Amazon a hand-crank LED light for $12, so surely these can be made far more efficient and cheaper with $200,000.
Re: A $5 Lamp Powered Solely by Gravity
#46Not to nitpick, bit it's not powered by gravity, it is powered by people going over every 30 minutes and lifting a weight back up to its top position. EDIT: Apparently people don't understand that using gravity to generate energy is a thing, and the title "Powered Solely" suggested someone found a way to do that.
I was a bit disappointed by the title. I was hoping for something akin to a sterling engine, which is powered solely by a heat differential. As long as the heat differential is present and barring any mechanical issues, the sterling engine will operate continuously without intervention.
Re: A $5 Lamp Powered Solely by Gravity
#47Previously submitted and seriously doubted: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4889266 In that thread[0] revelation[1] said: At perfect efficiency, this seems to give you about 55mW for a hour, if I asked Wolfram correctly (for 20kg lifted one meter) - [2] - So probably a hoax. [0] http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4889426 [1] http://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=revelation [2] http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=…
I don't think its a hoax (I commented in the previous thread, initially skeptical but we worked out the math)
It may not be as useful as someone might like, which is to say you won't get a lot of light out of it. But unlike the candle example all of the light will be going roughly one direction. Think 'keychain LED flashlight' kind of light.
So in a place that literally has no light, it will be helpful. That last door in the dungeon, your village storage hut 30 miles from the nearest town on moonless nights. If you don't mind running the generator faster you can get brighter light for less time.
I took apart one of these [1]: http://www.amazon.com/FR160B-Microlink-Self-Powered-Weather-... which is Grundig crank powered radio/siren/flashlight. Its pretty bright, and you can power the LED off the internal generator directly. In fact if you were handy with some shop tools you could probably build your own version of this light with just this radio thing and mechanical connection between the crank and the weight. (You would leave the flashlight set to 'on') You wouldn't get 30 minutes of light, more like 2 minutes. But conceptually the idea is the same.
I like the design ethos of the 'clock' style energy source (I've got a grandfather clock that you wind by pulling up the weights on it).
I expect in a nominally lit urban environment it will provide little benefit. But that doesn't mean I believe it will be useless in all environments.
[1] I've now received 3 of these for 'free' (one as a conference giveaway, one came in a kit of earthquake supplies, and one was added into a garage sale purchase of other stuff. They kinda suck, in that they break pretty easily and once they do they don't work (internal wiring breaks). So finding a broken one shouldn't be all that hard if you're looking to experiment.
Re: A $5 Lamp Powered Solely by Gravity
#48I use kerosene lights by choice in the winter in weeks like this one when there is no sunshine. So, here's my firstish world problems take on it. May not apply to people for whom a gallon of kerosine is a significant fraction of their monthly income. I have a hard time seeing myself using something like this, except as task lighting. I'd be fine to have to lift a weight if I was only going to be using the kitchen for…
>a gallon of kerosine is a significant fraction of their monthly income
It's not just that, it's also extremely polluting (both for the immediate and greater environments) and dangerous. The kerosene isn't the most expensive part, it's buying a good quality lamp that won't tip over or leak toxic gases.
http://flexiwaysolar.com/kerosene-lamps-the-problem/fire-ris...
Re: A $5 Lamp Powered Solely by Gravity
#49Earlier quoted context omitted.
Technically powered by the food eaten to lift it. Technically powered by the sun. Technically shut up with useless pedanticism.
It's not very useless. The title suggests a perpetual motion machine, so I was wondering what that was doing on HN. Knowing you have to lift it first (from the article or from the comments) is important to know and lets one think this isn't necessarily made up.
You infer a perpetual motion machine, they say it is 'powered by gravity'.
Re: A $5 Lamp Powered Solely by Gravity
#50I don't quite understand HOW does it turn the weight into energy. Could someone enlighten me?
the weight is on a string. That string is connected to a crank that turns a generator as it falls.