Sunday, September 22, 2013

Gravity Light - a viable technology?

Below are my calculations to determine whether the gravity light detailed in this article (http://www.electronicproducts.com/News/LED_lamp_is_powered_by_nothing_but_gravity.aspx) is a viable technology:


Unless some of my assumptions or calculations were incorrect, it appears that this design, although a brilliant idea, is not possible to execute. The weight required to run this light for 30 minutes is enormous. I hope these engineers are not asking for money for a faulty product. Maybe I am wrong?

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2 comments:

  1. AnonymousSeptember 27, 2013 at 7:39 PM

    Hi Fiona, It's Phil Gerard! I was looking at Facebook and somehow found my way to your blogspot and this page. Here's one thing to consider: A 60 watt incandescent bulb produces the same amount of light as a 6 to 8 watt LED bulb. So use 7 watts in your equation or 7 joules per second and recheck your conversions... I think that this light might work!

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  2. UnknownSeptember 29, 2013 at 6:05 PM

    Thanks for pointing that out! Although, I redid the calculation, and came up with a little over 1000 lbs. That is a lot less than my original answer, but still not practical. Unless I did the math wrong, I still don't think it is possible to run this light for 30 min just off of the force of gravity.

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