Gadgets, brando, lego, lego light, light, mood, mood light

LEGO Brick Tower Mood Light Builds a Castle of Happiness

These aren't LEGO in the way that actual LEGO are LEGO, but they are translucent bricks that you can stack on top of each other to build structures. In this case, the structure is a tower with a hole in the middle for a light to go, which then passes through the various colors you've set up to induce one of several moods. The redder the construction, the...let's say angrier you'll feel. The yellower, the most you'll feel like taking a whiz. Thirty-five bucks gets you one. [Brando via Geekalerts via Slashgear]

7:00 PM on Wed Apr 2 2008
By Jason Chen
2,760 views
10 comments

Comments

daftrok at 07:12 PM on 04/02/08
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Lego vs. Knex...GO!
daversW at 07:16 PM on 04/02/08
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@daftrok: lego, no contest

and i totally want these things...
Cordfucious at 07:18 PM on 04/02/08
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@daftrok: it was all about construx in my house. Kenex was for the preppy wanna bees :D
someToast at 07:36 PM on 04/02/08
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"These aren't LEGO in the way that actual LEGO are LEGO [...]"

Well then, title the article Brick Tower Mood Light Builds a Castle of Happiness.

Sheesh. Getting a guy's hopes up and shit.
Burgundy Corningstone at 07:46 PM on 04/02/08
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I wonder how hot that bulb has to get before you end up with a smoldering pile of warm, melted plastic?
cyborgtroy at 08:21 PM on 04/02/08
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@Burgundy Corningstone: If these are made of shittier plastic than real Legos, not even the boiling temperature of water.

Soda bottles, plastic silverware, and such similar materials 'melt' below 100 C. Nice.
Kaiser-Machead at 08:57 PM on 04/02/08
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Connectedness Index: 287
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I think I'll take my hand at building one of these. A good low-wattage CFL bulb can handle nicely.
Boognish at 09:57 PM on 04/02/08
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note 220V
FinalValgas at 01:12 AM on 04/03/08
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Why not use a few friggin white LEDs?
Purple Dave at 04:16 AM on 04/06/08
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@someToast:
It's okay. You can make essentially the same thing out of _real_ LEGO bricks, including the lights in the core. Not for $35, mind you, but it _is_ possible.

@cyborgtroy:
LEGO bricks are made out of ABS plastic (that's acrylonitrile butadiene styrene). It has a glass transition temperature (that's when it will naturally deform without application of pressure) of ~220F, which is slightly higher than the boiling point of 212F. It has _no_ melting point, because it is an amorphous plastic, not a crystalline plastic, so all it will do under heat is get gooey until it spontaneously ignites from increased heat. Now, Megabloks, which are made from straight polystyrene, have a glass transition temperature that's a few points below boiling, so they _will_ deform in boiling water. The other thing to consider is that if you drop a LEGO brick into a pot of boiling water, it will be resting on the metal pot, which can be considerably hotter than the water contained within (which will never exceed its boiling temperature without converting to steam), and that temperature can indeed be hot enough to damage the bricks. It's just that pouring boiling water on them shouldn't be _quite_ enough to warp them out of shape. Actually, that might be a fun way to check for clones that have stowed away within a batch of good brick...