At the end of the day, magnetic levitation is well understood and is
far too often a solution in search of a problem. Otherwise levitated
lights are an attractive design concept and may even be worth a
special effort. Unfortunately it presently needs a special
environment. Thus lighting up large voids this way is still in the
future.
On the other hand a powered roof panel and a floor panel underneath
may do the trick provided the device could be kept isolated from the
problem of human interaction. I think that it is far too likely to
be problematic.
In the meantime it is a reminder that invisible forces surround us
and do allow neat toys that folks like to see.
18 year-old
electrical engineering student wows with levitating light
By Paul Ridden
12:07 July 7, 2012
18 year-old
engineering student Chris Rieger has spent the last 6 months building
his LevLight system, where an LED light module floats in mid-air
while wirelessly receiving its power from a coil hidden inside a
wooden box
The inclusion of a
floating lamp, bed or just about any
appropriately-sized household object in a room is almost certain
to be received with open-mouthed wonder and demand closer inspection
from the curious minds of young and old alike. Add the wireless
transfer of power into the mix and you're guaranteed to have a
winner. Such is the case with 18 year-old Chris Rieger's LevLight.
It's not exactly huge, doesn't break any new ground in a technical
sense and is more functional than flashy. Nevertheless, the floating
LED is quite the visual feast.
The Electrical
Engineering student from the University of Queensland Australia
embarked on the six month build project after being inspired by a
Jeff Lieberman sculpture called light bulb from 2007. This
work not only magically suspends an incandescent light bulb in the
space between solid upper and lower blocks, but also provides it with
wire-free power.
Rieger describes the
creation of the levitation mechanism for LevLight as the simple part
of the project. He modified a Hall Effect Levitator circuit designed
by Eirik Taylor to include 300 meters (984 feet) of 20awg wire
for the electromagnetic drive coil and a 3-pin, 1.325mV/g linear hall
effect sensor from RS components to provide feedback on the position
of the wirelessly suspended light. LevLight uses a low power LED
positioned on the bottom of a permanent magnet surrounded by a
wireless power transfer circuit (a simple LC circuit).
Not so easy for our
intrepid circuit magician was the wireless power transfer mechanism.
Of course, we've covered many examples of this kind of
technology here at Gizmag over the years and were I asked to choose
one, it wouldn't be one of the many mobile device or electric vehicle
charging developments but rather the potentially
life-enhancing FREE-D system developed by researchers from
the University of Washington and the University of Pittsburgh Medical
Center.
Rieger's version takes
the shape of another circuit modification (this time from the
4HV electronics and science enthusiast site). The setup consists
of a single wire ring connected to the power source (a hacked
benchtop unit made from an old 350W power supply unit and banana plug
ports) and pulling 0.5A at 12V. Send and receive coils were then
tuned to matched frequencies.
The drive coil and
wireless mechanism are hidden from view inside a wooden enclosure
raised on two cardboard box columns and, with the power switched on,
the LED light floats in the space underneath. Rieger says that when
the power to the levitating system is turned off (or in the event of
a power failure) the LED light unit jumps up to attach itself to the
base of the wooden box rather than falling to the ground.
Describing LevLight in
words is all well and good, but it really needs to be seen to be
fully appreciated. To that end, have a look at the demo video below.
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