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Scientists Have Created Artificial Sunlight: Real Enough to Trick Your Brain

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Re: Scientists Have Created Artificial Sunlight: Real Enough to Trick Your Brain

#11

Post by aetherson »

glibgil wrote: post #7
rmxt wrote: post #3

This looks quite nice, but the cost seems to be prohibitive for all but the highest end customers. Let's face it, if you can afford a $65k+ light fixture, then you probably won't be settling for an apartment that is in some dingy back alley, which would necessitate this fixture in the first place. The video mentioned uses of gyms and hospitals won't see this for years. Private art galleries perhaps sooner, but I wond…

Imagine you are looking to buy an apartment. The units on the south side sell for $300K. The units on the north side sell for $200K. There is a unit on the north side with this light fixture in the living room for $265K. Also, imagine there is a unit on the south side that has great natural light in the living room, but has this fixture in the hallway. It sells for $365K. In both cases the upgraded apartments would b…

They would? I mean, you assert it, but it doesn't sound very compelling to me.

And are there in fact apartment buildings where otherwise identical units on the south/north side sell at 3:2 price differential?

Re: Scientists Have Created Artificial Sunlight: Real Enough to Trick Your Brain

#12

Post by chias »

xerula wrote: post #2

Better information on the actual site: http://www.coelux.com/

This is really cool! I'd love to have such a thing in my apartment. But since I just read the link on HN about removing ducks:

"Caution: the photographs on this site are real and unretouched. They are not computer renderings."

I just... don't really know why looking at real photographs is dangerous.

Re: Scientists Have Created Artificial Sunlight: Real Enough to Trick Your Brain

#14

Post by Eric_WVGG »

Excluse wrote: post #4
rmxt wrote: post #3

This looks quite nice, but the cost seems to be prohibitive for all but the highest end customers. Let's face it, if you can afford a $65k+ light fixture, then you probably won't be settling for an apartment that is in some dingy back alley, which would necessitate this fixture in the first place. The video mentioned uses of gyms and hospitals won't see this for years. Private art galleries perhaps sooner, but I wond…

> This looks quite nice, but the cost seems to be prohibitive for all but the highest end customers. As with all new technology, the price will eventually come down.

insert the “take my money” meme/gif here.

“Light boxes” are a joke. The day these are even remotely feasible for consumers I will early-adopt.

Re: Scientists Have Created Artificial Sunlight: Real Enough to Trick Your Brain

#15

Post by stevenh »

xerula wrote: post #2

Better information on the actual site: http://www.coelux.com/

How do they make it appear as if the actual sun is off in the distance in 3D?

Did they invent the world's first 3D display that works at all angles without special glasses?

Are they lighting up a standard hologram in a novel way?

Are they using a special lens to magnify an incredibly tiny and incredibly bright light source?

Are they using a microarray lens sheet, similar to how lenticular products such as the Nintendo 3DS achieve 3D, except that it would work perfectly from all viewing angles?

Whatever the case, I don't care about the price; I don't care about the marketing fluff; I just want to know how it actually works. It's frustrating that we aren't allowed to know.

Re: Scientists Have Created Artificial Sunlight: Real Enough to Trick Your Brain

#16

Post by ch4s3 »

anandaverma wrote: post #5
Excluse wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> This looks quite nice, but the cost seems to be prohibitive for all but the highest end customers. As with all new technology, the price will eventually come down.

Correct, but I am not finding it cool it really reminds me that someday we won't have sun or open air :(

These would be great in hospitals, not just for patients, but also people that work on the night shift and never see much daylight.

Re: Scientists Have Created Artificial Sunlight: Real Enough to Trick Your Brain

#17

Post by rmxt »

glibgil wrote: post #7
rmxt wrote: post #3

This looks quite nice, but the cost seems to be prohibitive for all but the highest end customers. Let's face it, if you can afford a $65k+ light fixture, then you probably won't be settling for an apartment that is in some dingy back alley, which would necessitate this fixture in the first place. The video mentioned uses of gyms and hospitals won't see this for years. Private art galleries perhaps sooner, but I wond…

Imagine you are looking to buy an apartment. The units on the south side sell for $300K. The units on the north side sell for $200K. There is a unit on the north side with this light fixture in the living room for $265K. Also, imagine there is a unit on the south side that has great natural light in the living room, but has this fixture in the hallway. It sells for $365K. In both cases the upgraded apartments would b…

Your example isn't very convincing. I don't see the use case of these as being a simple north/south side difference in light. I think the intended use case is for cramped urban environments (NYC, London, HK, Paris, etc.) or big cities at extreme latitudes (Stockholm, Moscow, etc.), where the market for apartment buying at the low price of $200k doesn't exist.

Using your numbers, my pragmatism says that there is absolutely zero chance of me putting 18% to 25% (65/265 to 65/365) of the cost of my apartment towards a single light fixture. $65k gets you two years of rent in a nice apartment in a decent neighborhood in NYC.

Re: Scientists Have Created Artificial Sunlight: Real Enough to Trick Your Brain

#18

Post by Shish2k »

anandaverma wrote: post #5
Excluse wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> This looks quite nice, but the cost seems to be prohibitive for all but the highest end customers. As with all new technology, the price will eventually come down.

Correct, but I am not finding it cool it really reminds me that someday we won't have sun or open air :(

If we have fake sun and air which is indistinguishable from the real thing, why would you want the real thing?

I'm actually quite excited by the same reason -- if we can ween ourselves off of the sun with no side-effects, then that's one less roadblock between us and interstellar travel :D

Re: Scientists Have Created Artificial Sunlight: Real Enough to Trick Your Brain

#19

Post by upofadown »

Your visual system has to adapt all the way from the bluish light of midday to the reddish light at the end of the day. You can adapt to whatever light is available to you and after an initial adaptation period you can't tell the difference. There is no need for trickery as the system tricks itself.

To replace sunlight you can use any bright light with enough blue light in it to stimulate the circadian system. You can even use straight blue light if you want.

Most ridiculous phrase:

> ... it also produces the texture and feel of sunlight.

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