Gizmodo: fluorescent

Walk Into the Light

Jesus Diaz — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:00:00 EST

You are lost, walking through a dark forest. Unknown animal sounds drill into your ears and fears. The freezing wind crackles above you. And then, reality breaks, opening a gate to an unknown white. Would you enter or run away?

I think I would. After recovering from the heart attack, I probably would run into it, only to get electrocuted by Yochai Matos' "Flame (Gate)", which is what this spacetime fabric door really is: An art installation made with hundreds of fluorescent bulbs. [Yochai Matos and The Coolist]

Bonus morning post soundtrack: My beloved Kim Deal singing Into the White.

This Farm? Oh, At This Farm We Grow Fluorescent Bulbs

Dan Nosowitz — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 01:25:00 EDT

Richard Box's art installation, called FIELD, is powered by the electrical fields from the power lines that run above the project. It's an eerie sight, to be sure. [io9]

Tea Bag Lighting Concept is Absolutely Tea-lightful

Elaine Chow — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 01:03:00 EST

Korean designer Wonsik Chae's light concept is in the shape of a teabag filled with fluorescent molecules that react to chemicals in a teacup. The result: a new meaning to the words "tea light."

Much like normal cups of tea, you dip the teabag in to start the reaction. You then "draw a light" by pulling up the teabag and letting the fluorescent molecules slip into the chemical concoction. Draw it multiple times to make the concoction darker and thus the light brighter.

While it's bound to make your party prettier, it seems like something you should warn your guests of beforehand. Something tells me this tea isn't drinkable. [Toxel]

Lazy 'Eco' Panasonic Lighting Glows Only As Brightly As It Needs To

Mark Wilson — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 09:40:00 EST

Panasonic has just announced a new fluorescent light fixture that's extra energy efficient. Responding to ambient light (from the sun, etc), the light will adjust its output accordingly to save electricity while maintaining brightness.

The Auto-Eco Light-Control Twin Pa, its full glorious name, boasts an energy savings of up to 62% with its brightness automation. But at $360 for a 74W version and $390 for 89W, it had better damn well rain redwood seedlings onto my living room floor wrapped in dollar bills to keep them warm. [Panasonic via CrunchGear]

New GE Light Within a Light Is Like Ship In a Bottle

Jesus Diaz — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 18:20:00 EST

General Electric's new Energy Smart CFL.fluorescent light is one of those things that makes you scratch your head and wonder: How the hell do they do that? A fluorescent spiral lamp into a traditional bulb?

John Strainic, global product general manager, won't say. He just says that the manufacturing process is the result of "very advanced patents". As you can see in the video, the fluorescent spiral is housed inside the typical incandescent light bulb glass—which will be frosted in the final version—along with the necessary electronics to make it work.

It seems to me like the typical looks-cool-but-I-don't-know-if-it's-useful-or-what invention that may take the market by storm or sit on shelves gathering dust forever. It will be available at Target and selected Ace Hardware stores next January, and around "Earth Day 2009" (which in case you didn't know—like me—is April 22) everywhere else. [GE Lighting]

Bulb 2.0: Homage to a (Once) Timeless Design

Mark Wilson — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 13:16:00 EDT

Not that there's anything particularly wrong with the soft serve style of traditional CFLs, but we sort of love the overly cutesy nature of the Bulb 2.0, a compact fluorescent shaped lamp with the faux filament of a traditional incandescent lightbulb. It's both a nod to Edison in an era when his most famous invention is (thankfully) going obsolete, and, maybe more importantly, a way to finally stop our painful, compulsive CFL licking. [Formstark via Notcot]

Panasonic's Pa-Look Fluorescent Bulbs Get Lit Fast

Jason Chen — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 20:20:00 EDT

Not since Adam Frucci's last house party have we seen anything get lit as fast as Panasonic's Pa-Look fluorescent bulbs. These use a hybrid lighting method that makes for "instant bulb brightness," which is more convenient for bathrooms where you want to get light right away and not accidentally step on errant urine. Inside is a "quick lamp" that brings the goods 50 to 60% faster, and then cuts off when the regular fluorescent reaches optimum lighting. Fantastic for the slightly impatient. [Akihabara News]

Compact Fluorescent Bulbs Are The New Hotel Robe

Mark Wilson — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 10:29:18 EST

While hotels are used to catering to the shady sides of society—there's good reason that rooms are void of blacklight fixtures and stocked to the gills with plenty of cheap towels—they are not used to appeasing eco-conscious thieves. According to Montana's page on energy efficient CFLs, "building owners, hotel operators and office managers complain about people stealing the CFL bulbs right out of the fixtures."

So what can be done about the problem?

According to Montana: "There is no easy way around this, and it is a real issue. Hey, these bulbs are popular!"

If only the allure of low energy illumination devices weren't so close to the cockles of Man's heart, maybe we could hope to find a moment of order in this crazy world we live in. [Montana via ecogeek]

IKEA Recycles Old CFL Bulbs for Free

Matt Buchanan — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 01:00:48 EDT

If you've made the switch from incandescent light bulbs to CFLs in order to be more energy/money efficient, one issue possibly plaguing your otherwise greener conscience is where to recycle it after it goes cold in about seven years, since it can't be recycled with glass bottles, thanks to its mercury content. IKEA to the rescue! They'll take old CFLs off of your hands for free recycling, which is useful given the big push CFL bulbs are getting from everyone from Wal-Mart to governments. Of course, the snag is that's only helpful if you have an IKEA somewhere in your general vicinity, but them's the breaks. [IKEA via Consumerist, Flickr]

Halloween CFLs Keep You Spooky AND Eco-Friendly

Mark Wilson — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 11:03:47 EDT

When decorating this Halloween, there's no reason to throw out your Gizmodo-sharpened electronics mind. On the contrary, Halloween is your time to shine. Literally. Just check out these Halloween-themed compact fluorescents. The 13W bulbs run 2 for $9 (one black, one orange), and will last you every Halloween for the rest of your life. And your children's lives. And your children's children's lives. Now that's a spooky thought. [treehugger via make]

EVERLED, LED "Fluorescent" Tubes

Mark Wilson — Sat, 04 Aug 2007 18:30:39 EDT

While fluorescent tubes are energy efficient, their materials are crappy for the environment. But under current infrastructure (schools, city buildings, etc), replacing fluorescence with another technology would take uncountable amounts of moolah. That's why we're so excited about EVERLED, which fits in a standard fluorescent socket. But that's not the only benefit.

These EVERLEDs are rated at a 10-year lifespan, compared to the 5-7 year lifespan of their fluorescent counterparts. Plus, the lights require 20% less power, which would be an energy savings of incredible magnitude from a global perspective.

The catch: each 4-foot tube runs $150...or 70 TIMES the price of a fluorescent of the same size. Sorry, environment...uhh...things are tight...with the constantly buying new gadgets and all.

[product page via inhabitat]