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2023-11: Warosu is now out of extended maintenance.

/diy/ - Do It Yourself

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376550 No.376550 [Reply] [Original]

>just heard about this on "Science Friday"

http://vimeo.com/53588182

So, how can we make this ourselves? Seems simple enough. LED + joule thief + well-geared generator/DC PM motor + a dropped weight = gravity powered lamp?

http://sciencefriday.com/audio/index.html

Seems they got their funding money (they asked for $55,000 and got $399,590 lol)

Something tells me I have all the parts in my house to make a few of these.

>> No.376554

That is an exceptionally cool idea.

>> No.376579

>>376550
It's cool, but not what I was hoping.
You still have to lift the weight up yourself, over and over again...
It's just like those hand pump flashlights, only slower. Ancient technology.

I was hoping it was piezoelectric shit...

>> No.376585

>>376579
Yes, it is old tech. Why don't we use more of old tech like that?

>> No.376599

>>376579

What is wrong with this?

Kerosene lamps have to be refilled.

Maybe with some work they can get it to last 60-90 min on a "lift"

>> No.376605

>>376599
The simple way to get more time is to make the drop longer. If they can get more time without making the drop longer that'd be better of course.

>> No.376606

>>376550

dimwits paid those fuck real bucks because they dont understand physics.

There's nothing new or magical about it. the innovation that lets the be doable is LED technology and i suppose good electronics for energy conversion. that's not nothign, but this isn't a rule changer.

no one wants to crank for 5 minutes to get a couple LEDs worth of light under most circumstances. Migt be nice for a remote cabin or something.

another niche solution masquerading as a revolution. there are no magic bullets, all the low hanging fruit has done been plucked.

>> No.376608

>>376606
>>376579
>being this angsty

lol

>> No.376609

>>376606

You twit.

No one is saying this is new tech or magic.

These people took time to sit down and make some thing that works.

Works right now.

Most new inventions involve taking what you already have and combining it into something else or something that works better than what you already have.

All they are asking for is a few $ to make it work better.

>> No.376611

>>376609
This is true. Most things, even in sci-fi are actually doable right now with the level of tech we have now. It is that most people just don't do it or lack the money to do it right.

>> No.376615

>>376550

That's...a really spectacularly elegant solution. Goddamned, brilliant simple engineering FTW.

I want one now.

>> No.376616

>>376605

I'm thinking of watches. How does an old-school mechanical watch work--you wind it up, right? And then gradually it winds down. I'm thinking some similar mechanism could be implemented that would constantly pull on that little wire that runs the light, and you'd have power for a lot longer than just half an hour. They say "gravity" does the work--but it's really the pulling motion.

A slow, steady pulling motion.

Hmm.

>> No.376623
File: 30 KB, 490x319, glb_grnrvb_ov_1109.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
376623

Anyone else see a problem with this?

The power comes from the weight falling, which in turn gets it's potential energy from a human lifting the weight, and the human in turn gets his energy from food calories.

Athletes often have to eat 1000 or more extra calories a day in order to have the energy to perform. And while lifting this generator's weight isn't exactly an Olympic sport, the person who lifts it is burning some extra calories and will have to eat more food to compensate. Those extra calories may seem negligible to us, they won't be negligible to a population that already lives on 1000 fewer calories a day than us.

>> No.376626

>>376623

You probably burn 1 Cal by lifting it 5 times. Say you want to use it all through the night lets be extreme and say you're only getting 10 minutes a lift instead of the marketed 30 you'd still only burn about 10 Cal. I think they'll be fine it's not like its powered through curling a 50lb weight.

>> No.376628

>>376623

The people who are in poor enough conditions where they can't afford to spend the calories to lift something likely aren't even healthy enough to stand.

>> No.376629

>>376623
having a light inside is going to save anyone who would not otherwise have it a shitload of time and energy.

>> No.376631

>>376623
How much energy do they spend making enough money to buy the kerosene? How much energy is spent going to and from the place where they buy the kerosene? How about over a couple years of doing this?

I'm sure it is a whole lot more than lifting the weight countless times over the same amount of time.

Not to mention the health problems from fumes of the kerosene lamps.

>> No.376642

Well, this thread got me up and doing things.

I took the LED array from a cheap, $1, disassembled flashlight and hooked it up to one of my bigger DC motors and gave it a spin on my stationary bicycle. With nothing else, I was able to keep a very low, comfortably lazy pedaling speed to make the LED array pretty bright.

So, from that the only thing I really need is the gearing/braking system the GravityLight uses and implement it in my own system. I think I'd use wooden grears since those are easy to size up, print out, and cut out of plywood or whatever I have laying around.

I could run quite a lighting system I think. I know the motors I have output an easy 14.4v at 2.5 amps when charging my deep cycle battery. Since I have 2, I can use one to do this gravity light project.

Anyone have ideas on any special gearing to use?

>> No.376656

>>376623
......over 3400? A DAY???

Holy shit.

>> No.376695

>>376656
It is a 1st world problem.

>> No.376696

Really glad they were so successful.

It's nice that with people like Anita Sarsleazeian conning people that there are still some decent human being left on this damn planet.

>> No.376697

>>376623
If someone was literally so depleted they can't afford the calories to lift a small bag (but could work enough to afford kerosene?) they are probably not too concerned with a nightlight.

>> No.376714

why can't people in africa get their shit together and invent their own lamps?
i don't get it.

i'm seriously puzzled and stumped as to why these people live in dusty shitholes when there are people all over the world constantly working on new technologies to improve their lives, meanwhile all I get over here in America is the least efficient and most breakable shit being crammed down my throat by greedy corporations

>> No.376822

>>376714
Because they really don't need the tech in the first place. It is 1st world people that think they need them and want to help them. We don't need the tech. we have it because corporations want to make money.

>> No.377910
File: 36 KB, 667x500, CooKit.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
377910

Bumping for something cool.

It reminds me of the solar cooker stuff one company makes for African places.

http://solarcooking.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Solar_cooker_plans

Here's the one in the image,

http://solarcooking.wikia.com/wiki/CooKit

>> No.378667

>>376714

and to add some to >>376822

africans are not the owners of "their" lands and have no money to rent the lands they live on for "development projects for the folk". They get the bare minimum to exist if anything at all (actually they don't), otherwise Nestle and co. would not be pleased.

>> No.378680

>>376822
>We don't need the tech.
derp

>> No.378767

>>378680
We don't. You're just a brainwashed consumerist.

>> No.378807

>>376579
Unhappy that a product designed to light remote villages in Africa aren't cutting edge technology.

>>376606
what the fuck...it's not a "revolution". It's a cheep tool that will provide light and prevent death from inhalation of kerosine fumes.

>>376623
Food is always cheaper than Kerosine, so this argument, while the most logical so far, is also invalid. Further, walking many miles to BUY Kerosine, then hauling the gallon or so of liquid back with you burns far, far, FAR more calories than this.

>>376822
Yeah, all the people who die of Malaria every year don't need mosquito nets. The people who die from dehydration or diarrhea don't need available water and water filtration. The people who die from smoke cancer and other illnesses from toxic smoke inhalation don't need help there, either. It's all bullshit forced down their throats. Increased lifespan and less disease is such a FAD.

>>378767
Please do us all a favor and live your methodology. Destroy every single piece of technology you own not created 100% by your own hands from raw materials. Start with your computer.

>> No.378808
File: 15 KB, 378x250, mccomb_rock_hammer.JPG.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
378808

Also, OP? This design is literally nothing but one of these that's a little bit sturdier in a different housing. Buy a cheep hand crank flashlight and work up a frame and gear system for the weight bag and you're golden.

>> No.378846

>>378807
>then hauling the gallon or so of liquid back

I remember reading this bit on the IGG page:
"Burning Kerosene also comes with a financial burden: kerosene for lighting ALONE can consume 10 to 20% of a household's income. This burden traps people in a permanent state of subsistence living, buying cupfuls of fuel for their daily needs, as and when they can."

>cupfuls

I doubt we're talking about gallons, more likely someone in or around the community makes a 'relative' killing by selling tiny amounts of fuel for a premium. If you are living on less than a dollar a day/a few dollars a week, you wouldn't have any level of savings to devote to buying things in bulk.

>> No.378871

>>378846
You buy a 5 gallon can, get your buddy to drop it off at your place via bike/mule/truck whatever sell the kerosene in small PET bottles for a markup. Repeat.

>These LED lights run forever and don't need my kerosene. They are stealing the food from my childrens mouths.

>> No.378872

>>376550
If i hang someone fat on it will it be able to power up my notebook?

>> No.378875

>>376550
>http://sciencefriday.com/audio/index.html

absolutely brilliant.

>> No.378874

I'd fill the sandbag with gold or money cause first world

>> No.378885
File: 39 KB, 884x560, Clipboard02.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
378885

hah, thats all they could come up with after 5 years of research?

I invented this perpetuum mobile version in 20 seconds, where is my 500 000$ donation?

get on my level scrubs

>> No.378898

>>378872
Please choke on moose vomit.

>> No.378902

>>378885
because water doesn't fall down. No moose vomit for you. For you...my grandmothers testicles.

>> No.378904

>>378898
How do you know my fetish?

>> No.378933

Why not have a large mainspring that does the same thing, except you crank it for a few seconds instead of lifting a rock

>> No.378937

>>376550
Heavy weight+gears=slow descent and lots of energy

Anyways it's a cheap concept, stationary bikes with CVT trans and generator in recreation centers would be far better

>> No.378950
File: 1.83 MB, 200x200, mindblown.gif [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
378950

>>378885
are you a wizard?

>> No.378960

http://www.howtospotapsychopath.com/2012/12/12/more-photons-fewer-pixies/

It's all-but-a-scam. The light output will be worthless.

>hey, lets overexpose the photo, so that it looks like its really really bright!

>> No.378975
File: 31 KB, 500x401, x.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
378975

>>378950

>> No.378993

>>376605
what about adding a bigger weight and bigger gearing system in it? you could theoretically add a few hundread pounds to the weight, increase the drop distance to 25 feet, and you could power a street lamp/flood light all night long

>> No.379021

>>376606
There was a thread on reddit that used physics and math to prove that it was a scam...

The amount of weight needed to create the energy to light up the most efficient LED for half an hour with only 6' of distance would be enormous. Like, in the tens of thousands of pounds area.

Until it is actually shown working by a 3rd party, i dont believe it for a second.

>> No.379055

>>378993
and how exactly are you going to lift it? and where will you hang it?

>> No.379059

>>379055
forklift that drives down the street every evening

I'm sure forklifts get awesome fuel economy
there's no way they cost more to run then lamps...

>> No.379061

>>379055
if it's a street lamp, and it on a pole 25 feet in the air, and as for lifting the weight, use a pull system

>> No.379062

people on /diy/ sure have a weak understanding of physics.

The energy you use to lift the weight will be equal to the energy give back from its decent... The energy required to pump a dynamo to light up energy efficient, dim LEDS(like in >>378808) is multiple times more... so either there is magic involved in this device, or the video is a scam.

>> No.379069

>>379062
Not necessarily, it just means that the LED is powered by the human picking up the weight.
The weight and pulley system is just a way to slowly release the energy.

Not saying that it's not a scam, haven't seen the math, but the idea is plausible.

>> No.379166

This is the dumbest fucking idea I've ever seen. Just use a solar panel and a battery.

You can get 10 yard lights for like $5 at the dollar store for fuck sake.

>> No.379167

>>379166
Those things are super dim, and the batteries die in a few months.

>> No.379168

>>378960
the op video said they had it on the high power mode where there's more weight and it drops faster

its an led, it isn't that bright, you can obviously see that in the pics and video

thinking it is more than that means ur dumb

>> No.379173

>>379055
>>378993
WAIT!!!!

What...
Listen
Guys listen.
What if....get this guys
What if you had one of these things a little bigger and you built it so that you had a seat to sit in and the seat was what pushed or pulled down the gearing to make the light? All you'd need to do is sit in the chair and you'd be creating power! Need to reset it? Stand up and sit back down!

Holy fuck!

Give me my $500,000 now please.

>> No.379199

>>379167
This gravity light is no brighter.

I've guess a 10kg (22lbs) bag lifted 1.5m (5feet):
Potential Energy = m x g x h
Potential Energy = 10kg x 9.8m/s^2 x 1.5m
Potential Energy = 147Joules = 0.04 watt-hours
To put that into perspective, a rechargeable AA battery holds about 3.5 watt-hours.

Given perfect efficiency, the gravity light can provide 80mW for 30 minutes. That's equivalent to one indoor LED Christmas tree light (they are about 70mW each)!

An 8 watt LED light bulb is equivalent to a 40 watt incandescent bulb, so it's only 1% of the power needed to properly illuminate a room.

>> No.379422

>>379199
One thing you have to remember with this is that their goal is only to provide a more sustainable/lower cost alternative to a shitty kerosene lamp.

What's the 60th to 80th percentile of maximum light output for 80mW compared to the quality of kerosene lamp someone who makes $400 a year can afford?

>> No.379487
File: 244 KB, 1067x800, 6583201-elektronicke-vyrezavane-kukacky-vyrobene-v-rakousku-2[1].jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
379487

>>376550
>year two thousand and thirteen of our lord and savior jesus christ
>stealing hundreds of years old designs and claiming them as your own
Shoody Doogy doo where are you?

>> No.379503

>>379199

That thing apparently has adjustable brightness and 30min obviously is the maximum working time, with minimum brightness.
It is meant to be used in mud huts. Goal is not "proper illumination".

>> No.379547

>>379487
They most likely have no clue at all how those clocks work or even have an idea of them even existing, but would recognize them if shown.

You may as well hate on Goodyear for making new tire designs.

>> No.379586

I was going to build something similar a couple of years ago and did the maths like >>379199 and its just not feasible. Even 3rd worlders are not going to wind this thing up every 10-20 minutes when a kerosene lamp works well enough.

>> No.379694

yet another magic that the africans will think that evil whites have been keeping from them for eons

>> No.379795

>>376550
There was a show on UK TV back in the 70's and 80's called "Tomorrows World", on the same show where Trevor Baylis showed off his prototype clockwork radio they also showed a couple of "generators" meant for the third world. one was a system of ropes, pulleys and an alternator linked to tree tops that made current when the trees swayed in the wind, the other was the same system only this time you pulled a bucket full of rocks up a tree on a pulley and when you let it go it would generate power for 30 minutes or so, the idea was set up a number of these things so that as one bucket reached the ground it would trigger the next to start and the power would switch over and you would have power for hours at a time for a few minutes work hauling rocks up trees with ropes and pulleys, I've never seen it since so I'm guess nobody was interested but the theory was very sound.

>> No.380013

>>376626
>You probably burn 1 Cal by lifting it 5 times

Nigga you serious? A half gallon of milk is 1000 calories. Do you think that I could burn a half gallon of milk off my body simply lifting a small bag filled with fuckin' dirt?

You need some /fit/ in your life

>> No.380434

>>379199
> so it's only 1% of the power needed to properly illuminate a room.

Ever used a kerosene lamp? They are really shitty for light too and can't properly illuminate a room.

>> No.380436

>>380434

the types that have a mantle will blind you they are so bright.

>> No.380438

>>380436
Only the pressurized kind do that. They also fucking suck at, "properly illuminating a room."