Robin Massink from the Netherlands has built a cool Magnetic Levitation Light Bulb it uses Wireless Energy Transfer to power the bulb. It is always weird to see something being powered with no wires!
"I used this globe (http://www.thinkgeek.com/geektoys/science/98b8/) for the levitating part. It consists of 2 permanent magnets, and 2 electromagnets, coupled with a hall sensor to keep a third magnet (inside the globe) floating. I mounted a ordinary 20W lightbulb on this magnet, after removing the plastic globe. The light bulb is connected in parallel with a 100nF capacitor, and a coil of about 40 turns of copper wire.(diameter is about 6 cm). The base has the same coil, with the 100nF capacitor in series connected. The base-coil receives a 50volt, 30kHz square wave signal, from a half H bridge(something like this: http://lh4.ggpht.com/otp.arun/SJkzTSR90lI/AAAAAAAAAh8/fqNPHXqXa8U/s400/hbri1.JPG), with the coil/capacitor connected where the motor is drawn. The current is about 0.5 amps. It works by driving the primary LC combination at resonance. A induction current is generated in the secondary coil because of the resulting magnetic field generated. The current is then directly fed into the light bulb."
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Here’s another fellow who did something similar, though the bulb is “hanging” and without a levitation platform:
http://bea.st/sight/lightbulb/
They’re both pretty cool in my book, would love to have something like this as a desklamp.
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That is awesome! I’m also can’t believe this type of technology ever exist. Powering up a bulb without any wire/cable attached is really a phenomenal science!
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this is relly cool i relly see this as not a wast of time. light magnuts…
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We’ve been lighting up light-bulbs wirelessly since the late 1800’s. =P
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That’s right, Jesse…Nikola Tesla gave many demonstrations of wirelessly powered lights; on stage for electrical demonstrations, at his lab as wireless fluorescent lighting, and even lit a bank of lights from 25 miles away with his wireless transmitter. He was also able to demonstrate levitation of a bismuth plate.
Then, uh, “something” happened. And we’ve had the 90 percent inefficient Edison bulbs for the last 100 years. Until recently, and its been back to fluorescent. And now we have wireless. And levitation.
So a levitating spiral fluorescent would be the natural progression from here, although I doubt we’ll see it powered from 25 miles away!
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I still find it rather amazing that Florescent lights are more efficient than LEDs.
Though I’m not sure about life-span…
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Cool art trick but the power requirements are fierce compared to light output.
There is another wireless bulb that is stunningly efficient. They use microwaves to bath a capsule and it emits light. It’s more efficient than CCFLs or LEDs. It’s drawback is that it has to operate in a shielded cage. The ‘bulb’ is tiny and has no electrodes but I can’t find the article. It was either /. or make magazine.
Could have been here but I’m not seeing it.
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have you read about the article of MIT? they transfer energy through air with the distance of 2meters and powered a 60 watt bulb. now I am having a research about how that thing works.. do anybody know what materials they used?? and the step-by- step procedure they did…would you also give me the similar study about the wireless transmission.. thank you in advance
can you please email me at.. rletcdingal@yahoo.com
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I agree that this one is more interesting. Levitating light bulb gives cancer.Magnetics is the future. Imagine, no grease required, minimal friction. It’s very cool stuff.