On the medical side of light for a change – up in Houghton, Michigan, scientists at Michigan Technical University have developed a way to make the E. coli bacteria glow like little indigo lightbulbs under ultraviolet light. Apparently the E. coli bacteria really likes the sugar mannose, and just can't get enough. Scientists at MTU [...]
Read More bacteria, E. coli, Medical Light, Michigan Technical University, researchI just read an article at iSquint about two more fatalities in the growth of technology: the High End Systems Cyberlight and the High End Systems Studio Beam. ETC stopped taking orders for the Express and Expression lines in the Fall of 2008 – I assume for promote the Congo, Eos, and Ion. As technology [...]
Read More Cyberlight, Electronic Theatre Controls, ETC, Express, expression, High end, iSquint, Studio BeamRight now, the Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency are trying to convince the Senate that they can work out the details of the Energy Star program without legislative help. The Senate has some members who want to go ahead an legislate the Energy Star program and decide what the standards are, regardless [...]
Read More Department of Energy, DOE, Energy Star, Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, legislation, Senate Energy and Natural Resources CommitteeSo, a few days ago I interviewed Tony McGettican of Luxim for the JimOnLight.com Podcast (which is almost ready, by the way), and I asked him about the LIFI lamp and if he could tell me about any partnerships or joint ventures with moving light companies. Tony politefully declined to comment because the news of [...]
Read More LIFI, LIFI-ENT-31-02, luxim, moving light, plasma lamp, Robe, ROBIN 3 Plasma SpotOnly $120. Oh, recession humor! Welcome the GeoBulb, an LED incandescent replacement fixture from C. Crane, a California LED producer. Here's the scoop – GeoBulb is about $120, has a 30,000 hour lifespan (which is nearly 10 years), uses 8w, and is supposed to replace a 60w incandescent. It's got 40% less heat than a [...]
Read More C. Crane, GeoBulb, incandescent replacement, LEDOkay, maybe junk is a little excessive, maybe not. This is a bit of a departure from what I've been seeing lately – a collection of "found objects" that are mixed with some light, creating these sculptures of mass stare-ability. Stare-ability? Wow, I guess I'm also making up words today. A description from Warren Muller's [...]
Read More found art, found light, installations, Light Art, Warren MullerWhile I was digging around over at the DoE website, I discovered that there's been a small breakthrough on OLED output. OLED technology has been lacking a real solid blue in research so far, and the folks at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have gotten a 25% increase in blue light output from a blue [...]
Read More OLED, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, PNNLDo you remember that great guide that Susan Rose wrote for the Whole Hog II console? Cat West of Console Trainer has produced a Whole Hog guide for the operating system used in the Whole Hog 3, Hog iPC (in 3 mode), Road Hog, Road Hog Full Boar, and Hog3PC. Cat's guide is great – [...]
Read More Cat West, Console Trainer, Hog iPC, Hog3PC, Road Hog Full Boar, Whole Hog 3, whole hog III have written and referred to the 747 with the big real genius laser strapped to the nose a bunch of times. I just read an article over at Wired's Danger Room about the YAL-1 project – some call it the "Flying Lightsaber" – and things ain't going too well financially. The project is $4 [...]
Read More Airborne Laser, defense, megawatt, Northrop Grumman, YAL-1I just discovered this beautiful project – it's no longer installed, as it was on display July 28, 2008 through August 22, 2008. Toyo Ito and Associates Architects and Takram Design Engineering created this interactive exhibit with 280 glass chimes. Here's some info on the project: On a grid of equilateral triangles, we hung a [...]
Read More chimes, Furin, installations, interactive, Takram Design Engineering, Toyo Ito and Associates Architects