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<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss version="2.0" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/" xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/" xmlns:georss="http://www.georss.org/georss" xmlns:geo="http://www.w3.org/2003/01/geo/wgs84_pos#" xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" > <channel> <title>Blog – Hackaday</title> <atom:link href="https://hackaday.com/blog/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" /> <link>https://hackaday.com</link> <description>Fresh hacks every day</description> <lastBuildDate>Thu, 26 Dec 2024 19:39:44 +0000</lastBuildDate> <language>en-US</language> <sy:updatePeriod> hourly </sy:updatePeriod> <sy:updateFrequency> 1 </sy:updateFrequency> <generator>https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.1</generator><site xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">156670177</site> <item> <title>The Focus Dial Never Shipped, but You Can Build One From Scratch</title> <link>https://hackaday.com/2024/12/26/the-focus-dial-never-shipped-but-you-can-build-one-from-scratch/</link> <comments>https://hackaday.com/2024/12/26/the-focus-dial-never-shipped-but-you-can-build-one-from-scratch/#respond</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Maya Posch]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Thu, 26 Dec 2024 19:30:00 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Crowd Funding]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Lifehacks]]></category> <category><![CDATA[pomodoro]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://hackaday.com/?p=751168</guid> <description><![CDATA[<div><img width="800" height="453" src="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/focus_dial_salim_benbouziyane_youtube.jpg?w=800" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="" style="margin: 0 auto; margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" fetchpriority="high" srcset="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/focus_dial_salim_benbouziyane_youtube.jpg 1219w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/focus_dial_salim_benbouziyane_youtube.jpg?resize=250,142 250w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/focus_dial_salim_benbouziyane_youtube.jpg?resize=400,227 400w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/focus_dial_salim_benbouziyane_youtube.jpg?resize=800,453 800w" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" data-attachment-id="751180" data-permalink="https://hackaday.com/2024/12/26/the-focus-dial-never-shipped-but-you-can-build-one-from-scratch/focus_dial_salim_benbouziyane_youtube/" data-orig-file="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/focus_dial_salim_benbouziyane_youtube.jpg" data-orig-size="1219,691" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="focus_dial_salim_benbouziyane_youtube" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/focus_dial_salim_benbouziyane_youtube.jpg?w=400" data-large-file="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/focus_dial_salim_benbouziyane_youtube.jpg?w=800" /></div>What do you do when a crowdfunded product you really liked gets cancelled? Naturally, you take the idea and build your own version of it. That’s what [Salim Benbouziyane] did <a href="https://hackaday.com/2024/12/26/the-focus-dial-never-shipped-but-you-can-build-one-from-scratch/" class="read-more">…read more</a>]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<div><img width="800" height="453" src="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/focus_dial_salim_benbouziyane_youtube.jpg?w=800" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="" style="margin: 0 auto; margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" srcset="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/focus_dial_salim_benbouziyane_youtube.jpg 1219w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/focus_dial_salim_benbouziyane_youtube.jpg?resize=250,142 250w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/focus_dial_salim_benbouziyane_youtube.jpg?resize=400,227 400w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/focus_dial_salim_benbouziyane_youtube.jpg?resize=800,453 800w" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" data-attachment-id="751180" data-permalink="https://hackaday.com/2024/12/26/the-focus-dial-never-shipped-but-you-can-build-one-from-scratch/focus_dial_salim_benbouziyane_youtube/" data-orig-file="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/focus_dial_salim_benbouziyane_youtube.jpg" data-orig-size="1219,691" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="focus_dial_salim_benbouziyane_youtube" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/focus_dial_salim_benbouziyane_youtube.jpg?w=400" data-large-file="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/focus_dial_salim_benbouziyane_youtube.jpg?w=800" /></div><p>What do you do when a crowdfunded product you really liked gets cancelled? Naturally, you take the idea and build your own version of it. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZa-Vqu-_fU" target="_blank">That’s what [Salim Benbouziyane] did</a> when the Focus Dial project on Kickstarter saw its launch cut short. This device allows you to set a ‘no distractions’ timer, during which notifications on one’s phone and elsewhere are disabled, making it something similar to those Pomodoro timers. What this dial also is supposed to do is integrate with home automation to set up clear ‘focus’ periods while the timer runs.</p><p>A quick prototype was set up using an ESP32 and other off-the-shelf components. The firmware has to run the timer, toggle off notifications on iOS and trigger firewall traffic rules to block a batch of social media addresses. Automating this with iOS was the hardest part, as Apple doesn’t make such automation features easy at all, ultimately requiring a Bluetooth audio board just to make iOS happy.</p><p>After this prototyping phase, the enclosure and assembly with the modules were drawn up in Autodesk Fusion 360 before the plastic parts were printed with a resin printer. The end result looks about as good as the Kickstarter one did, but with a few changes, because as [Salim] notes, if you are going to DIY such a failed crowdfunding project, why not make it work better for you?</p><p><span id="more-751168"></span></p><p><iframe title="They Never Shipped, So I Built My Own Focus Dial from Scratch" width="800" height="450" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nZa-Vqu-_fU?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://hackaday.com/2024/12/26/the-focus-dial-never-shipped-but-you-can-build-one-from-scratch/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">751168</post-id> <media:thumbnail url="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/focus_dial_salim_benbouziyane_youtube.jpg" /> <media:content url="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/focus_dial_salim_benbouziyane_youtube.jpg" medium="image"> <media:title type="html">focus_dial_salim_benbouziyane_youtube</media:title> </media:content> </item> <item> <title>Battery-Electric Ships: Coming Soon to a Harbor Near You?</title> <link>https://hackaday.com/2024/12/26/battery-electric-ships-coming-soon-to-a-harbor-near-you/</link> <comments>https://hackaday.com/2024/12/26/battery-electric-ships-coming-soon-to-a-harbor-near-you/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Maya Posch]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Thu, 26 Dec 2024 18:00:17 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Hackaday Columns]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Transportation Hacks]]></category> <category><![CDATA[battery-electric propulsion]]></category> <category><![CDATA[electric ship]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://hackaday.com/?p=735094</guid> <description><![CDATA[<div><img width="800" height="600" src="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/container_ship_msc_texas.jpg?w=800" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="" style="margin: 0 auto; margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/container_ship_msc_texas.jpg 2048w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/container_ship_msc_texas.jpg?resize=250,188 250w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/container_ship_msc_texas.jpg?resize=400,300 400w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/container_ship_msc_texas.jpg?resize=800,600 800w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/container_ship_msc_texas.jpg?resize=1536,1152 1536w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" data-attachment-id="555031" data-permalink="https://hackaday.com/container_ship_msc_texas/" data-orig-file="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/container_ship_msc_texas.jpg" data-orig-size="2048,1536" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="container_ship_msc_texas" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/container_ship_msc_texas.jpg?w=400" data-large-file="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/container_ship_msc_texas.jpg?w=800" /></div>When ships moved from muscle- and wind power to burning coal and other fossil fuels for their propulsion, they also became significantly faster and larger. Today’s cargo ships and ferries <a href="https://hackaday.com/2024/12/26/battery-electric-ships-coming-soon-to-a-harbor-near-you/" class="read-more">…read more</a>]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<div><img width="800" height="600" src="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/container_ship_msc_texas.jpg?w=800" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="" style="margin: 0 auto; margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/container_ship_msc_texas.jpg 2048w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/container_ship_msc_texas.jpg?resize=250,188 250w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/container_ship_msc_texas.jpg?resize=400,300 400w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/container_ship_msc_texas.jpg?resize=800,600 800w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/container_ship_msc_texas.jpg?resize=1536,1152 1536w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" data-attachment-id="555031" data-permalink="https://hackaday.com/container_ship_msc_texas/" data-orig-file="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/container_ship_msc_texas.jpg" data-orig-size="2048,1536" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="container_ship_msc_texas" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/container_ship_msc_texas.jpg?w=400" data-large-file="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/container_ship_msc_texas.jpg?w=800" /></div><p>When ships moved from muscle- and wind power to burning coal and other fossil fuels for their propulsion, they also became significantly faster and larger. Today’s cargo ships and ferries have become the backbone of modern civilization, along with a range of boat types. Even though tugs and smaller pleasure vessels are a far cry from a multi-thousand ton cargo or cruise ship, one would be hard-pressed to convert these boats back to a pure muscle or wind-based version. In short, we won’t be going back to the Age of Sail, but at the same time the fossil fuel-burning engines in these boats and ship come with their own range of issues.</p><p>Even if factors like pollution and carbon emissions are not something which keep you up at night, fuel costs just might, with these and efficiency regulations increasing year over year. Taking a page from alternative propulsions with cars and trucks, the maritime industry has been considering a range of replacements for diesel and steam engines. Here battery-electric propulsion is somewhat of an odd duck, as it does not carry its own fuel and instead requires on-shore recharging stations. Yet if battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) can be made to work on land with accompanying low ‘refueling’ costs, why not ships and boats?</p><p>A <a href="https://newscenter.lbl.gov/2024/10/30/exploring-the-cost-and-feasibility-of-battery-electric-ships/" target="_blank">recent study</a> by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) researchers <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41560-024-01655-y" target="_blank">Hee Seung Moon et al.</a> as published in <em>Nature Energy </em>claims that a significant part of US maritime traffic can be electrified this way. Yet as a theoretical model, how close does it hit to the harsh realities imposed by this physical world which we live in?</p><p><span id="more-735094"></span></p><h2>Different Scales</h2><figure id="attachment_735843" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-735843" style="width: 400px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/justine_mcallister_Tug_Boat_NY_1.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="735843" data-permalink="https://hackaday.com/2024/12/26/battery-electric-ships-coming-soon-to-a-harbor-near-you/justine_mcallister_tug_boat_ny_1/" data-orig-file="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/justine_mcallister_Tug_Boat_NY_1.jpg" data-orig-size="2000,1241" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"6.3","credit":"","camera":"NIKON D40","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1200846664","copyright":"","focal_length":"116","iso":"400","shutter_speed":"0.0008","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="justine_mcallister_Tug_Boat_NY_1" data-image-description="<p>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tug_Boat_NY_1.jpg?useskin=vector</p>" data-image-caption="<p> Justine McAllister (IMO 8107878), a tug boat in New York Harbor. (Credit: Eric Baetscher, Wikimedia)</p>" data-medium-file="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/justine_mcallister_Tug_Boat_NY_1.jpg?w=400" data-large-file="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/justine_mcallister_Tug_Boat_NY_1.jpg?w=800" class="size-medium wp-image-735843" src="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/justine_mcallister_Tug_Boat_NY_1.jpg?w=400" alt=" Justine McAllister (IMO 8107878), a tug boat in New York Harbor. (Credit: Eric Baetscher, Wikimedia)" width="400" height="248" srcset="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/justine_mcallister_Tug_Boat_NY_1.jpg 2000w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/justine_mcallister_Tug_Boat_NY_1.jpg?resize=250,155 250w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/justine_mcallister_Tug_Boat_NY_1.jpg?resize=400,248 400w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/justine_mcallister_Tug_Boat_NY_1.jpg?resize=800,496 800w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/justine_mcallister_Tug_Boat_NY_1.jpg?resize=1536,953 1536w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-735843" class="wp-caption-text">Justine McAllister (IMO 8107878), a tug boat in New York Harbor. (Credit: Eric Baetscher, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tug_Boat_NY_1.jpg?useskin=vector" target="_blank">Wikimedia</a>)</figcaption></figure><p>An important aspect with any battery-powered craft is matching the battery capacity with the expected range. For BEVs like cars, the goal is to put as much battery capacity into the vehicle as possible, constrained mostly by factors such as the cost per kWh and how much physical volume is available in the vehicle for batteries without intruding on the driver and passengers. This is how we ended up with a range of BEVs that can cover a sizeable chunk of daily usage cases, as well as specific cases like buses where the daily range requirement is planned in advance and thus very easy to optimize for. Even so, a number of road-bound vehicles are hard to electrify with just batteries, such as cross-country trucks due to the sheer weight of the batteries required in most scenarios. Unlike a fuel tank, these batteries also do not lose weight as they become more empty.</p><p>In the case of boats, these smaller vessels tend to have pretty limited range. For example: tugs put in a lot of work, but either remain bound to a specific harbor or slowly follow a set watercourse like a river with a gaggle of barges in tow. Here you can have recharging infrastructure set up and charging points ready to go with relatively little difficulty in the harbor or at mooring spots along the route. More challenging are vessels with more erratic routes, not to mention ships with routes that are so long that no reasonable amount of batteries could power it without recharging or swapping batteries. The main case in point here is container ships.</p><p>In a <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41560-022-01065-y" target="_blank">2022 study by Jessica Kersey et al.</a> in <em>Nature Energy</em> it was found that for routes of less than 1,500 km electrification would be economical, assuming a battery price of $100 per kWh. At that point the main question remains how many batteries you can fit into the ship without negatively impacting the cargo load that it can carry. A container ship <a href="https://casualnavigation.com/cargo-ship-comparison-how-far-can-they-go-in-a-day/" target="_blank">can travel around 540 km per day</a> at its average cruising speed, with a shipping route like Los Angeles to Yokohama of 7,792 km (4,207.6 nautical miles) taking over two weeks:<a href="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Comparison-Table-List-Infographic-Gantt-Chart-Graph-768x576-1.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="735976" data-permalink="https://hackaday.com/2024/12/26/battery-electric-ships-coming-soon-to-a-harbor-near-you/comparison-table-list-infographic-gantt-chart-graph-768x576/" data-orig-file="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Comparison-Table-List-Infographic-Gantt-Chart-Graph-768x576-1.jpg" data-orig-size="768,576" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="Comparison-Table-List-Infographic-Gantt-Chart-Graph-768×576" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="<p>Travel time of specific cargo ship types along certain popular routes.</p>" data-medium-file="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Comparison-Table-List-Infographic-Gantt-Chart-Graph-768x576-1.jpg?w=400" data-large-file="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Comparison-Table-List-Infographic-Gantt-Chart-Graph-768x576-1.jpg?w=768" class="aligncenter wp-image-735976 size-large" src="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Comparison-Table-List-Infographic-Gantt-Chart-Graph-768x576-1.jpg?w=768" alt="Travel time of specific cargo ship types along certain popular routes." width="768" height="576" srcset="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Comparison-Table-List-Infographic-Gantt-Chart-Graph-768x576-1.jpg 768w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Comparison-Table-List-Infographic-Gantt-Chart-Graph-768x576-1.jpg?resize=250,188 250w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Comparison-Table-List-Infographic-Gantt-Chart-Graph-768x576-1.jpg?resize=400,300 400w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px" /></a>Putting enough batteries on cargo ships to allow them to travel these routes without recharging in between is too much to ask. This is why the focus with battery-electric propulsion for ships and boats is on these shorter routes, where the total volume of batteries combined with electric motor(s) does not significantly exceed the volume (and weight) previously taken up by the diesel engine(s) and fuel tanks. As modelled by Kersey et al., for a small neo-Panamax container ship this would be the case if the route is kept below 3,000 km. Yet if the route is extended to something like 20,000 km the batteries would take up 32% of the containership’s carrying capacity.</p><p>Using batteries with higher energy density could help here, but as seen with today’s favorite battery chemistries using the higher density Li-ion comes with fewer charge cycles and worse stability, while LiFePO<sub>4</sub> with its common use in especially BEVs and grid-storage and solar-storage batteries has much better longevity and safety record, at the cost of more weight per kWh.</p><h2>Removable Batteries</h2><p>Currently a number of battery-electric boats and ships are in service, with ferries being one of the first to be outfitted with such propulsion, case in point being the Norwegian <a href="https://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/MF_%C2%ABBast%C3%B8_Electric%C2%BB" target="_blank">Bastø Electric</a> ferry. This 600 passenger and 200 car ferry uses its 4.3 MWh battery as well as a diesel generator to travel the 10 kilometer route between Moss and Horten. While docked the batteries are charged up when a charging point is available. This makes it not a pure battery-electric boat, but rather a hybrid.</p><figure id="attachment_735988" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-735988" style="width: 800px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/cosco_shipping_lu-shui-01_battery_electric_containership.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="735988" data-permalink="https://hackaday.com/2024/12/26/battery-electric-ships-coming-soon-to-a-harbor-near-you/cosco_shipping_lu-shui-01_battery_electric_containership/" data-orig-file="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/cosco_shipping_lu-shui-01_battery_electric_containership.jpg" data-orig-size="1024,575" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="cosco_shipping_lu-shui-01_battery_electric_containership" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="<p>The Zhongyuan Haiyun Lu Shui 01 battery-electric 700 TEU containership. (Credit: Cosco Shipping)</p>" data-medium-file="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/cosco_shipping_lu-shui-01_battery_electric_containership.jpg?w=400" data-large-file="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/cosco_shipping_lu-shui-01_battery_electric_containership.jpg?w=800" class="size-large wp-image-735988" src="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/cosco_shipping_lu-shui-01_battery_electric_containership.jpg?w=800" alt="The Zhongyuan Haiyun Lu Shui 01 battery-electric 700 TEU containership. (Credit: Cosco Shipping)" width="800" height="449" srcset="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/cosco_shipping_lu-shui-01_battery_electric_containership.jpg 1024w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/cosco_shipping_lu-shui-01_battery_electric_containership.jpg?resize=250,140 250w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/cosco_shipping_lu-shui-01_battery_electric_containership.jpg?resize=400,225 400w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/cosco_shipping_lu-shui-01_battery_electric_containership.jpg?resize=800,449 800w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-735988" class="wp-caption-text">The Zhongyuan Haiyun Lu Shui 01 battery-electric 700 TEU containership. (Credit: COSCO Shipping)</figcaption></figure><p>More interesting are the two battery-electric containerships owned by China’s COSCO Shipping which recently began carrying shipping containers along the approximately 500 km route between Nanjing and Shanghai’s Yangshan Port. The Lu Shui (Green Water) 1 and 2 vessels are 700 TEU container ships that can travel at 10.4 knots over the Yangtze river. Perhaps most interesting about them is that they don’t have a battery bank integrated into their hulls, but rather take swappable batteries, with a standard capacity of 57.6 MWh, but with optional connection points for additional battery packs.</p><p>In the aforementioned LBNL study by Hee Seung Moon et al. the assumption was made that existing vessels would be retrofitted with batteries and electric motors, which would place a range of restrictions relative to newly designed and built vessels like COSCO’s newly commissioned ones. Being able to swap out battery packs along with shipping containers allows freshly charged packs to be ready when the containership docks and avoids the hassles of quick charging after each trip and replacing batteries after their approximately decade-long useful lifespan, for LiFePO<sub>4</sub>.</p><h2>Practical Within Limits</h2><p>It’s clear that for shorter routes the use of battery-electric propulsion can make sense. Depending on the local grid this can also be less polluting than burning low-sulfur diesel fuel, and conceivably be cheaper, though it all has to be worked out on a case-by-case basis. In the case of COSCO the reasoning appears to have been that these custom container ships are perfect for such a shorter route, with cost savings to be expected over the use of direct-driven diesel or diesel-electric propulsion. Ultimately the success of battery-electric propulsion will come down to simple economics, especially in the cut-throat shipping business.</p><p> </p><p>Featured image & thumbnail: Containership MSC Texas. (Source: <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Container_Ship_MSC_Texas_(4423023837).jpg?useskin=vector" target="_blank">Wikimedia Commons</a>)</p>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://hackaday.com/2024/12/26/battery-electric-ships-coming-soon-to-a-harbor-near-you/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>12</slash:comments> <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">735094</post-id> <media:thumbnail url="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/container_ship_msc_texas.jpg" /> <media:content url="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/container_ship_msc_texas.jpg" medium="image"> <media:title type="html">container_ship_msc_texas</media:title> </media:content> <media:content url="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/justine_mcallister_Tug_Boat_NY_1.jpg?w=400" medium="image"> <media:title type="html"> Justine McAllister (IMO 8107878), a tug boat in New York Harbor. (Credit: Eric Baetscher, Wikimedia)</media:title> </media:content> <media:content url="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Comparison-Table-List-Infographic-Gantt-Chart-Graph-768x576-1.jpg?w=768" medium="image"> <media:title type="html">Travel time of specific cargo ship types along certain popular routes.</media:title> </media:content> <media:content url="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/cosco_shipping_lu-shui-01_battery_electric_containership.jpg?w=800" medium="image"> <media:title type="html">The Zhongyuan Haiyun Lu Shui 01 battery-electric 700 TEU containership. (Credit: Cosco Shipping)</media:title> </media:content> </item> <item> <title>Blinded by the Light: the Problem with LED Headlights</title> <link>https://hackaday.com/2024/12/26/blinded-by-the-light-the-problem-with-led-headlights/</link> <comments>https://hackaday.com/2024/12/26/blinded-by-the-light-the-problem-with-led-headlights/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Maya Posch]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Thu, 26 Dec 2024 16:30:00 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Transportation Hacks]]></category> <category><![CDATA[headlights]]></category> <category><![CDATA[LED headlight]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://hackaday.com/?p=751135</guid> <description><![CDATA[<div><img width="800" height="484" src="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/LaserHeadlight.jpg?w=800" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="" style="margin: 0 auto; margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/LaserHeadlight.jpg 3000w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/LaserHeadlight.jpg?resize=250,151 250w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/LaserHeadlight.jpg?resize=400,242 400w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/LaserHeadlight.jpg?resize=800,484 800w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/LaserHeadlight.jpg?resize=1536,929 1536w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/LaserHeadlight.jpg?resize=2048,1239 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" data-attachment-id="467948" data-permalink="https://hackaday.com/2021/03/22/how-laser-headlights-work/laserheadlight/" data-orig-file="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/LaserHeadlight.jpg" data-orig-size="3000,1815" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="LaserHeadlight" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/LaserHeadlight.jpg?w=400" data-large-file="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/LaserHeadlight.jpg?w=800" /></div>Having a good set of (working) headlights is a crucial feature of any motor vehicle, assuming you want to be able to see the road ahead of you when there’s <a href="https://hackaday.com/2024/12/26/blinded-by-the-light-the-problem-with-led-headlights/" class="read-more">…read more</a>]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<div><img width="800" height="484" src="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/LaserHeadlight.jpg?w=800" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="" style="margin: 0 auto; margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/LaserHeadlight.jpg 3000w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/LaserHeadlight.jpg?resize=250,151 250w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/LaserHeadlight.jpg?resize=400,242 400w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/LaserHeadlight.jpg?resize=800,484 800w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/LaserHeadlight.jpg?resize=1536,929 1536w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/LaserHeadlight.jpg?resize=2048,1239 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" data-attachment-id="467948" data-permalink="https://hackaday.com/2021/03/22/how-laser-headlights-work/laserheadlight/" data-orig-file="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/LaserHeadlight.jpg" data-orig-size="3000,1815" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="LaserHeadlight" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/LaserHeadlight.jpg?w=400" data-large-file="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/LaserHeadlight.jpg?w=800" /></div><p>Having a good set of (working) headlights is a crucial feature of any motor vehicle, assuming you want to be able to see the road ahead of you when there’s a lack of sunshine. Headlights are also essential to be noticed by other cars and traffic participants, but if installed improperly they can end up blinding an opposing driver with potentially fatal results. This is <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/headlights-led-driving-safety-night-1.7409099" target="_blank">a major worry with LED lamps</a> that are increasingly being installed in cars, often replacing the old-style halogen bulbs that have a very different color spectrum and beam patterns, to the dismay of fellow road participants.</p><p>This headlight glare can also be simulated in driving simulators, as in a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1369847816305897" target="_blank">2019 article by [B.C. Haycock] et al.</a> where the effect is of course diminished because displays can only get so bright. Of note is that it’s not just LED lights themselves, but also taller vehicles and misaligned headlights, all of which makes it important that the angle of your car’s headlights is proper. You want to see the road in front of you, after all, not illuminate every house in the nearest settlement two klicks away.</p><p><span id="more-751135"></span></p><p>Compounding the problem is that the shorter wavelength, blue-ish light of LED headlights is more energetic than the more reddish, longer wavelength of halogens and are generally perceived as more intense by our eyes. Ultimately the solution appears to be <a href="https://www.autoweek.com/news/technology/a36031601/heres-how-smart-headlights-work/" target="_blank">adaptive driving beam headlights</a> (ADB), a technology that constantly adjusts the headlights to the circumstances. ADB has been common in e.g. Europe already for the past 15 years, and is allowed in Canada since 2018 and in the US since 2022 after a <a href="https://www.nhtsa.gov/press-releases/nhtsa-allow-adaptive-driving-beam-headlights-new-vehicles-improving-safety-drivers" target="_blank">rule change by the NHTSA</a>.</p><p>With plenty of improper headlights on vehicles in North America still, it’s best to practice defensive driving, with a brighter dashboard illumination, anti-glare coatings and safety squinting when a miniature solar system passes by during an night-time drive.</p>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://hackaday.com/2024/12/26/blinded-by-the-light-the-problem-with-led-headlights/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>35</slash:comments> <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">751135</post-id> <media:thumbnail url="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/LaserHeadlight.jpg" /> <media:content url="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/LaserHeadlight.jpg" medium="image"> <media:title type="html">LaserHeadlight</media:title> </media:content> </item> <item> <title>Tech in Plain Sight: Incandescent Bulbs</title> <link>https://hackaday.com/2024/12/26/tech-in-plain-sight-incandescent-bulbs/</link> <comments>https://hackaday.com/2024/12/26/tech-in-plain-sight-incandescent-bulbs/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Al Williams]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Thu, 26 Dec 2024 15:00:30 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Engineering]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category> <category><![CDATA[History]]></category> <category><![CDATA[history]]></category> <category><![CDATA[incandescent lamp]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://hackaday.com/?p=739377</guid> <description><![CDATA[<div><img width="800" height="531" src="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/pexels-daniel-reche-718241-1556704.jpg?w=800" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="" style="margin: 0 auto; margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/pexels-daniel-reche-718241-1556704.jpg 4288w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/pexels-daniel-reche-718241-1556704.jpg?resize=250,166 250w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/pexels-daniel-reche-718241-1556704.jpg?resize=400,266 400w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/pexels-daniel-reche-718241-1556704.jpg?resize=800,531 800w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/pexels-daniel-reche-718241-1556704.jpg?resize=1536,1020 1536w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/pexels-daniel-reche-718241-1556704.jpg?resize=2048,1360 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" data-attachment-id="751160" data-permalink="https://hackaday.com/2024/12/26/tech-in-plain-sight-incandescent-bulbs/pexels-daniel-reche-718241-1556704/" data-orig-file="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/pexels-daniel-reche-718241-1556704.jpg" data-orig-size="4288,2848" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="pexels-daniel-reche-718241-1556704" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/pexels-daniel-reche-718241-1556704.jpg?w=400" data-large-file="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/pexels-daniel-reche-718241-1556704.jpg?w=800" /></div>While they are dying out, you can still find incandescent bulbs. While these were once totally common, they’ve been largely replaced by LEDs and other lighting technology. However, you still <a href="https://hackaday.com/2024/12/26/tech-in-plain-sight-incandescent-bulbs/" class="read-more">…read more</a>]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<div><img width="800" height="531" src="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/pexels-daniel-reche-718241-1556704.jpg?w=800" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="" style="margin: 0 auto; margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/pexels-daniel-reche-718241-1556704.jpg 4288w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/pexels-daniel-reche-718241-1556704.jpg?resize=250,166 250w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/pexels-daniel-reche-718241-1556704.jpg?resize=400,266 400w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/pexels-daniel-reche-718241-1556704.jpg?resize=800,531 800w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/pexels-daniel-reche-718241-1556704.jpg?resize=1536,1020 1536w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/pexels-daniel-reche-718241-1556704.jpg?resize=2048,1360 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" data-attachment-id="751160" data-permalink="https://hackaday.com/2024/12/26/tech-in-plain-sight-incandescent-bulbs/pexels-daniel-reche-718241-1556704/" data-orig-file="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/pexels-daniel-reche-718241-1556704.jpg" data-orig-size="4288,2848" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="pexels-daniel-reche-718241-1556704" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/pexels-daniel-reche-718241-1556704.jpg?w=400" data-large-file="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/pexels-daniel-reche-718241-1556704.jpg?w=800" /></div><p>While they are dying out, you can still find incandescent bulbs. While these were once totally common, they’ve been largely replaced by LEDs and other lighting technology. However, you still see a number of them in special applications or older gear. If you are above a certain age, you might be surprised that youngsters may have never seen a standard incandescent lightbulb. Even so, the new bulbs are compatible with the old ones, so — mechanically, at least — the bulbs don’t look different on the outside.</p><figure id="attachment_739566" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-739566" style="width: 195px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/ed.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="739566" data-permalink="https://hackaday.com/2024/12/26/tech-in-plain-sight-incandescent-bulbs/ed-2/" data-orig-file="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/ed.jpg" data-orig-size="1920,2457" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="ed" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="<p>You might have learned in school that Thomas Edison invented the light bulb, but the truth is much stranger (public domain)</p>" data-medium-file="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/ed.jpg?w=313" data-large-file="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/ed.jpg?w=488" class="size-thumbnail wp-image-739566" src="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/ed.jpg?w=195" alt="" width="195" height="250" srcset="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/ed.jpg 1920w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/ed.jpg?resize=195,250 195w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/ed.jpg?resize=313,400 313w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/ed.jpg?resize=488,625 488w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/ed.jpg?resize=1200,1536 1200w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/ed.jpg?resize=1600,2048 1600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 195px) 100vw, 195px" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-739566" class="wp-caption-text">You might have learned in school that Thomas Edison invented the light bulb, but the truth is much stranger (public domain)</figcaption></figure><p>It has been known for a long time that passing a current through a wire creates a glow. The problem is, the wire — the filament — would burn up quickly. The answer would be a combination of the right filament material and using an evacuated bulb to prevent the filament degrading. But it took over a century to get a commercially successful lightbulb.</p><p>We were all taught in school that Thomas Edison invented the light bulb, but the truth is much more complicated. You can go back to 1761 when Ebenezer Kinnersley first caused a wire to glow. Of course, wires would quickly burn up in the air. By the early 19th century, limelight was fairly common in theaters. Limelight — also known as the Drummond light — heated a piece of calcium oxide using a gas torch — not electric, but technically incandescence. Ships at sea and forts in the U.S. Civil War used limelights to illuminate targets and, supposedly, to blind enemy troops at night. Check out the video below to see what a limelight looks like.</p><p><span id="more-739377"></span></p><p><iframe loading="lazy" title="The Lime Light" width="800" height="450" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HIC7B3vt9ZE?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe></p><p>Sir Humphry Davy demonstrated a dim, impractical light that used a huge battery and a thin strip of platinum. More practical was Davy’s electric arc lamp, which, after being refined by others, became common in some applications.</p><p>Arc lights had issues, though. They hissed and flickered. The carbon rods emitted carbon monoxide and ultraviolet light. They were extremely harsh and bright, and the rods burned up quickly. Everyone knew a better light bulb would be a winner, but no one knew how to create it.</p><h2>Getting Closer</h2><p>Starting around 1835, there were many experiments and demonstrations, but none of them really caught on. A Belgian, Marcellin Jobard, was on the right track in 1838 with a lightbulb in a vacuum with a carbon filament, but nothing really came of it. He also came up with what amounts to early emojis, but that took a long time to catch on, too.</p><p>Since platinum has a high melting point, it was a popular filament candidate. In the 1840s and 1870s, <a href="https://hackaday.com/2017/03/20/how-many-inventors-does-it-take-to-invent-a-light-bulb/">many inventors used platinum or carbon with varying degrees of success</a>. During that same time period, there were many patents and demonstrations, but none were successfully commercialized. However, a Russian named Alexander Lodygin did patent a working bulb with carbon rods in nitrogen gas.</p><p>It isn’t clear if Henry Woodward and Mathew Evans knew of the Russian patent. In 1874, they filed a Canadian patent for a similar bulb. Ultimately, they failed to commercialize it, but they sold their patent to Thomas Edison.</p><h2>Edison</h2><p>Edison got serious about electric lighting in 1878. He experimented with different carbonized materials and platinum but finally settled on carbon fed by platinum wires. Using carbonized threads resulted in a bulb that lasted just over 13 hours. However, he would discover that carbonized bamboo could last 1200 hours. You can see one of the oldest surviving Edison bulbs at the Port Huron Museum and in the video below.</p><p><iframe loading="lazy" title="Pieces of History - Early Thomas Edison Lightbulb" width="800" height="450" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dS-5CgNDgrs?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe></p><p>Many people worked on the problem throughout the 1800s. Edison arrived at a practical solution and had the mechanism in place to exploit it. However, others had light bulb patents. Albon Man and William Sawyer had bulbs that didn’t last as long as Edison’s but formed the basis for the United States Electric Lighting Company. That company’s chief engineer was Hiram Maxim, a name familiar to most ham radio operators, but this particular Hiram Maxim was the famous ham radio operator’s father.</p><p>The elder Maxim is one of several people who claimed they had actually invented the incandescent light before Edison. The courts eventually decided that some of Edison’s claims were preempted by William Sawyer’s patents, but that Edison still had other valid patent claims.</p><h2>Modern Types</h2><p>These early bulbs had little in common with modern bulbs. The inside of the bulb had to have very little oxygen and moisture, or the filament would oxidize or burn out. Initially, mercury vapor pumps and phosphoric anhydride were used, but this added expense to bulbs. Arturo Malignani found that red phosphorus would allow for a drier vacuum with cheaper pumps. Edison was quick to buy the patent.</p><p>However, Lodygin and others were on the right track, and using a metal filament and an inert gas to replace the oxygen would be more effective. This prevents the filament from burning and also reduces the evaporation of the filament. (See the video below if you want to see the effect of air on a tungsten filament.) He invented a process for forming thin metal filaments and sold the patent to General Electric in 1902.</p><p><iframe loading="lazy" title="Incandescent Lamp Filament in Vacuum Chamber" width="800" height="450" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZOM8Kkm62jM?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe></p><p>The truly modern bulb is the result of a 1904 invention by Sándor Just and Franjo Hanaman. They created a tungsten filament that worked better in an argon or nitrogen atmosphere. The Hungarian company Tungsram sold these, and they could practically pass for a modern clear-glass bulb.</p><p>A modern bulb has a glass envelope and a tungsten filament, although they add a few impurities to increase the filament life. The bulb contains a low pressure of a gas like argon, nitrogen, krypton, or xenon. Modern glass bulbs are either clear or coated with kaolin clay from the inside. Some bulbs have pigments to change color or different glass to produce different colors. Bulbs used for heating sometimes have special glass or even fused quartz.</p><h2>Real World Considerations</h2><p>Light bulbs are one of those circuit elements we pretend are perfect, but they aren’t. Tungsten filaments have a low resistance when cold, which causes a bulb to draw a lot of current when it first turns on. As the filament gets hot, the resistance goes up, and the current goes down. Oddly enough, carbon filaments have the opposite problem. They draw more power as they get hot, which also makes them sensitive to power surges, since if they get hot, they draw more current, which causes them to draw even more current, which makes them even hotter, and the cycle repeats.</p><p>In high-reliability circuits, designers often highly derate a bulb’s specifications to get a dimmer light that lasts longer. A 5% reduction in voltage will roughly double a bulb’s lifetime but also make it about 16% dimmer. Some will also pass a small current through the bulb even when it is off to keep the filament warm. This reduces the current draw and heating associated with turning on a cold filament.</p><p>The other big problem with incandescent lights is that they are relatively inefficient since most of the energy produces heat and infrared light. <a href="https://lamphq.com/led-energy-efficiency/" target="_blank">A typical bulb is around 5% efficient in terms of visible light</a>, and the best halogens come in around 10%.</p><p>Of course, this inefficiency is why there’s been a move to ban incandescent bulbs in favor of LEDs, fluorescents, and other technologies. LED lights, in contrast, can reach 30-40% efficiency. Still more light than heat, but almost an order of magnitude more efficient than plain-old incandescents.</p><h2>So Much More</h2><p>There’s a lot more to learn about light bulbs. In 1885, the U.S. had an estimated 300,000 carbon filament bulbs. By 1914, there were 88.5 million. In 1945, the market was around 795 million. When you deal with that kind of scale there are many innovations both in the technology and the machinery used to build them. Want to see how lightbulbs were made? Check out the video below.</p><p><iframe loading="lazy" title="How Light Bulbs Are Made" width="800" height="450" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TPc7Dspn1_8?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe></p><p>We’ve talked about the early lighting market and one of its pioneers, <a href="https://hackaday.com/2020/10/20/lewis-latimer-drafted-the-future-of-electric-light/">Lewis Latimer</a>, a few years ago. We’ve looked at <a href="https://hackaday.com/2017/03/20/how-many-inventors-does-it-take-to-invent-a-light-bulb/">the checkered history</a> many times.</p><p>Featured image: “<a href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/yellow-bulb-1556704/" target="_blank">Yellow Bulb</a>” by [Daniel Reche]</p>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://hackaday.com/2024/12/26/tech-in-plain-sight-incandescent-bulbs/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>15</slash:comments> <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">739377</post-id> <media:thumbnail url="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/pexels-daniel-reche-718241-1556704.jpg" /> <media:content url="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/pexels-daniel-reche-718241-1556704.jpg" medium="image"> <media:title type="html">pexels-daniel-reche-718241-1556704</media:title> </media:content> <media:content url="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/ed.jpg?w=195" medium="image" /> </item> <item> <title>OpenWRT, But On An Unsupported Router</title> <link>https://hackaday.com/2024/12/26/openwrt-but-on-an-unsupported-router/</link> <comments>https://hackaday.com/2024/12/26/openwrt-but-on-an-unsupported-router/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Jenny List]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Thu, 26 Dec 2024 12:00:00 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Linux Hacks]]></category> <category><![CDATA[linux]]></category> <category><![CDATA[openwrt]]></category> <category><![CDATA[router]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://hackaday.com/?p=751131</guid> <description><![CDATA[<div><img width="800" height="450" src="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/openwrt-port-featured.jpg?w=800" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="" style="margin: 0 auto; margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/openwrt-port-featured.jpg 800w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/openwrt-port-featured.jpg?resize=250,141 250w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/openwrt-port-featured.jpg?resize=400,225 400w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" data-attachment-id="751149" data-permalink="https://hackaday.com/2024/12/26/openwrt-but-on-an-unsupported-router/openwrt-port-featured/" data-orig-file="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/openwrt-port-featured.jpg" data-orig-size="800,450" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="openwrt-port-featured" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/openwrt-port-featured.jpg?w=400" data-large-file="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/openwrt-port-featured.jpg?w=800" /></div>Everyone likes something cheap, and when that cheap thing is a router that’s supported by OpenWRT, it sounds like a win. [Hennung Paul] ordered a Wavlink WL-WN586X3 for the princely <a href="https://hackaday.com/2024/12/26/openwrt-but-on-an-unsupported-router/" class="read-more">…read more</a>]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<div><img width="800" height="450" src="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/openwrt-port-featured.jpg?w=800" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="" style="margin: 0 auto; margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/openwrt-port-featured.jpg 800w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/openwrt-port-featured.jpg?resize=250,141 250w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/openwrt-port-featured.jpg?resize=400,225 400w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" data-attachment-id="751149" data-permalink="https://hackaday.com/2024/12/26/openwrt-but-on-an-unsupported-router/openwrt-port-featured/" data-orig-file="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/openwrt-port-featured.jpg" data-orig-size="800,450" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="openwrt-port-featured" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/openwrt-port-featured.jpg?w=400" data-large-file="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/openwrt-port-featured.jpg?w=800" /></div><p>Everyone likes something cheap, and when that cheap thing is a router that’s supported by OpenWRT, it sounds like a win. [Hennung Paul] ordered a Wavlink WL-WN586X3 for the princely sum of 39 Euros, but was disappointed to find his device a rev. 2 board rather than the rev.1 board supported by the Linux distribution. Toss it on the failed projects pile and move on? Not at all, <a href="https://radiosocial.de/@hennichodernich/113714518196988714" target="_blank">he hacked together a working OpenWRT for the device</a>.</p><p>It’s fair to say that a majority of Hackaday readers will have familiarity with Linux, but that’s something which runs on a sliding scale from “Uses Ubuntu a bit” all the way to “Is at one with the kernel”. We’d rate ourselves somewhere around halfway along that scale in terms of having an in-depth knowledge of userland and a working knowledge of some of the internals which make the operating system tick even if we’re apprehensive about tinkering at that level. [Henning] has no such limitations, and proceeds to take the manufacturer’s distribution, itself a heavily modified OpenWRT, and make it his own. Booting over tFTP we’re used to, and we’re particularly impressed to see him using a Raspberry Pi as a surrogate host for the desoldered Flash chip over SPI.</p><p>It’s a long path he takes to get the thing working and we’re not sure we could follow it all, but we hope that the result will be a new device added to OpenWRT’s already extensive support list. It’s sometimes a shock to find this distro <a href="https://hackaday.com/2024/01/13/openwrt-to-mark-20-years-with-reference-hardware/">is now over two decades old</a>.</p>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://hackaday.com/2024/12/26/openwrt-but-on-an-unsupported-router/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>12</slash:comments> <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">751131</post-id> <media:thumbnail url="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/openwrt-port-featured.jpg" /> <media:content url="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/openwrt-port-featured.jpg" medium="image"> <media:title type="html">openwrt-port-featured</media:title> </media:content> </item> <item> <title>Open Source Lemontron 3D Printer is Ready to Build</title> <link>https://hackaday.com/2024/12/26/open-source-lemontron-3d-printer-is-ready-to-build/</link> <comments>https://hackaday.com/2024/12/26/open-source-lemontron-3d-printer-is-ready-to-build/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Tom Nardi]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Thu, 26 Dec 2024 09:00:18 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[3d Printer hacks]]></category> <category><![CDATA[compact]]></category> <category><![CDATA[lemontron]]></category> <category><![CDATA[portable 3D printer]]></category> <category><![CDATA[positron]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://hackaday.com/?p=751117</guid> <description><![CDATA[<div><img width="800" height="504" src="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/lemontron_feat.jpg?w=800" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="" style="margin: 0 auto; margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/lemontron_feat.jpg 1000w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/lemontron_feat.jpg?resize=250,158 250w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/lemontron_feat.jpg?resize=400,252 400w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/lemontron_feat.jpg?resize=800,504 800w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" data-attachment-id="751122" data-permalink="https://hackaday.com/2024/12/26/open-source-lemontron-3d-printer-is-ready-to-build/lemontron_feat/" data-orig-file="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/lemontron_feat.jpg" data-orig-size="1000,630" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="lemontron_feat" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/lemontron_feat.jpg?w=400" data-large-file="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/lemontron_feat.jpg?w=800" /></div>In this era of cheap turn-key machines, the idea of actually building your own desktop 3D printer might seem odd to some. But if you’re looking for a challenge, and want <a href="https://hackaday.com/2024/12/26/open-source-lemontron-3d-printer-is-ready-to-build/" class="read-more">…read more</a>]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<div><img width="800" height="504" src="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/lemontron_feat.jpg?w=800" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="" style="margin: 0 auto; margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/lemontron_feat.jpg 1000w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/lemontron_feat.jpg?resize=250,158 250w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/lemontron_feat.jpg?resize=400,252 400w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/lemontron_feat.jpg?resize=800,504 800w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" data-attachment-id="751122" data-permalink="https://hackaday.com/2024/12/26/open-source-lemontron-3d-printer-is-ready-to-build/lemontron_feat/" data-orig-file="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/lemontron_feat.jpg" data-orig-size="1000,630" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="lemontron_feat" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/lemontron_feat.jpg?w=400" data-large-file="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/lemontron_feat.jpg?w=800" /></div><p>In this era of cheap turn-key machines, the idea of actually <em>building</em> your own desktop 3D printer might seem odd to some. But if you’re looking for a challenge, and want to end up with a printer that legitimately sets itself apart from what they’re stocking on Amazon these days, then <a href="https://lemontron.com/" target="_blank">take a look at the Lemontron</a>.</p><p>We’ve been keeping tabs on the development of this open source 3D printer for some time now, and just before Christmas, the files finally were released for anyone who wants to try putting one together themselves. There’s currently no formal kit available, but once you’ve printed out all the parts, there’s a very nice bill of materials you can find on the website which will tell you everything you need to complete the assembly — and critically — where you can get it.</p><p><span id="more-751117"></span></p><p><a href="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/lemontron_detail.jpg" target="_blank"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" data-attachment-id="751127" data-permalink="https://hackaday.com/2024/12/26/open-source-lemontron-3d-printer-is-ready-to-build/lemontron_detail/" data-orig-file="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/lemontron_detail.jpg" data-orig-size="993,693" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="lemontron_detail" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/lemontron_detail.jpg?w=400" data-large-file="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/lemontron_detail.jpg?w=800" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-751127" src="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/lemontron_detail.jpg?w=400" alt="" width="400" height="279" srcset="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/lemontron_detail.jpg 993w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/lemontron_detail.jpg?resize=250,174 250w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/lemontron_detail.jpg?resize=400,279 400w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/lemontron_detail.jpg?resize=800,558 800w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px" /></a>The hotend and heated bed come from <a href="https://kb-3d.com/" target="_blank">KB-3D</a>, while the bulk of the rest of the components are sourced from AliExpress with a bit of DigiKey sprinkled in. There’s also a custom PCB you’ll want to pick up from your favorite board house. All told, building the Lemontron should cost you somewhat north of $400 USD. Of course, that assumes your time is free. But since you’re reading this on Hackaday, it’s probably a safe bet that you’ll enjoy your time.</p><p>You can check out the video below for an expedited look at assembling the printer. It’s not a step-by-step guide exactly, but it should give you a good idea of what to expect before you commit to building the thing. It also provides a look at the design philosophy behind the Lemontron, which largely eschews custom components and relies on off-the-shelf bits to tie all the printed parts together.</p><p>If you’re wondering were these upside-down 3D printers came from, the Lemontron is ultimately evolved from the <a href="https://hackaday.com/2021/08/03/strangest-upside-down-3d-printer-fits-in-a-filament-box/">Positron that we first covered back in 2021</a>.</p><p><iframe loading="lazy" title="Lemontron - Open Source 3D Printer is Ready to Download" width="800" height="450" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/n6l3GvkE4QU?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://hackaday.com/2024/12/26/open-source-lemontron-3d-printer-is-ready-to-build/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>9</slash:comments> <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">751117</post-id> <media:thumbnail url="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/lemontron_feat.jpg" /> <media:content url="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/lemontron_feat.jpg" medium="image"> <media:title type="html">lemontron_feat</media:title> </media:content> <media:content url="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/lemontron_detail.jpg?w=400" medium="image" /> </item> <item> <title>Taking “Movies” of Light in Flight</title> <link>https://hackaday.com/2024/12/25/taking-movies-of-light-in-flight/</link> <comments>https://hackaday.com/2024/12/25/taking-movies-of-light-in-flight/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Elliot Williams]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Thu, 26 Dec 2024 06:00:00 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Laser Hacks]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Science]]></category> <category><![CDATA[laser]]></category> <category><![CDATA[photomultiplier tube]]></category> <category><![CDATA[pulse]]></category> <category><![CDATA[speed of light]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://hackaday.com/?p=751082</guid> <description><![CDATA[<div><img width="800" height="333" src="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/i-built-a-1000000000-fps-video-camera-to-watch-light-move-iaxdsgkh8ww-webm-shot0001_featured.png?w=800" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="" style="margin: 0 auto; margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/i-built-a-1000000000-fps-video-camera-to-watch-light-move-iaxdsgkh8ww-webm-shot0001_featured.png 1200w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/i-built-a-1000000000-fps-video-camera-to-watch-light-move-iaxdsgkh8ww-webm-shot0001_featured.png?resize=250,104 250w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/i-built-a-1000000000-fps-video-camera-to-watch-light-move-iaxdsgkh8ww-webm-shot0001_featured.png?resize=400,167 400w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/i-built-a-1000000000-fps-video-camera-to-watch-light-move-iaxdsgkh8ww-webm-shot0001_featured.png?resize=800,333 800w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" data-attachment-id="751089" data-permalink="https://hackaday.com/2024/12/25/taking-movies-of-light-in-flight/i-built-a-1000000000-fps-video-camera-to-watch-light-move-iaxdsgkh8ww-webm-shot0001_featured/" data-orig-file="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/i-built-a-1000000000-fps-video-camera-to-watch-light-move-iaxdsgkh8ww-webm-shot0001_featured.png" data-orig-size="1200,500" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="i-built-a-1000000000-fps-video-camera-to-watch-light-move-iaxdsgkh8ww-webm-shot0001_featured" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/i-built-a-1000000000-fps-video-camera-to-watch-light-move-iaxdsgkh8ww-webm-shot0001_featured.png?w=400" data-large-file="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/i-built-a-1000000000-fps-video-camera-to-watch-light-move-iaxdsgkh8ww-webm-shot0001_featured.png?w=800" /></div>This one isn’t clickbait, but it is cheating. [Brian Haidet], the guy behind Alpha Phoenix, has managed to assemble movie footage of a laser beam crossing his garage, using a <a href="https://hackaday.com/2024/12/25/taking-movies-of-light-in-flight/" class="read-more">…read more</a>]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<div><img width="800" height="333" src="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/i-built-a-1000000000-fps-video-camera-to-watch-light-move-iaxdsgkh8ww-webm-shot0001_featured.png?w=800" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="" style="margin: 0 auto; margin-bottom: 15px;" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/i-built-a-1000000000-fps-video-camera-to-watch-light-move-iaxdsgkh8ww-webm-shot0001_featured.png 1200w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/i-built-a-1000000000-fps-video-camera-to-watch-light-move-iaxdsgkh8ww-webm-shot0001_featured.png?resize=250,104 250w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/i-built-a-1000000000-fps-video-camera-to-watch-light-move-iaxdsgkh8ww-webm-shot0001_featured.png?resize=400,167 400w, https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/i-built-a-1000000000-fps-video-camera-to-watch-light-move-iaxdsgkh8ww-webm-shot0001_featured.png?resize=800,333 800w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" data-attachment-id="751089" data-permalink="https://hackaday.com/2024/12/25/taking-movies-of-light-in-flight/i-built-a-1000000000-fps-video-camera-to-watch-light-move-iaxdsgkh8ww-webm-shot0001_featured/" data-orig-file="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/i-built-a-1000000000-fps-video-camera-to-watch-light-move-iaxdsgkh8ww-webm-shot0001_featured.png" data-orig-size="1200,500" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="i-built-a-1000000000-fps-video-camera-to-watch-light-move-iaxdsgkh8ww-webm-shot0001_featured" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="" data-medium-file="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/i-built-a-1000000000-fps-video-camera-to-watch-light-move-iaxdsgkh8ww-webm-shot0001_featured.png?w=400" data-large-file="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/i-built-a-1000000000-fps-video-camera-to-watch-light-move-iaxdsgkh8ww-webm-shot0001_featured.png?w=800" /></div><p>This one isn’t clickbait, but it <em>is</em> cheating. [Brian Haidet], the guy behind Alpha Phoenix, has managed to assemble movie footage of a laser beam crossing his garage, using a rig he put together for just a few hundred dollars. How, you ask? Well, for the long version, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaXdSGkh8Ww" target="_blank">you’re going to want to watch the video</a>, also embedded below. But we’ll give you the short version here.</p><p>Light travels about a foot in a nanosecond. What have you got that measures signals on a nanosecond scale pretty reliably? Of course, it’s your oscilloscope. The rest of [Brian]’s setup includes a laser that can pull off nanosecond pulses, a sensor with a nanosecond-ish rise time, and optics that collect the light over a very small field of view.</p><p>He then scans the effective “pinhole” across his garage, emitting a laser pulse and recording the brightness over time on the oscilloscope for each position. Repeating this many thousands of times and putting them all together relative to the beginning of each laser pulse results in a composite movie with the brightness at each location resolved accurately enough to watch the light beam fly. Or to watch different time-slices of thousands of beams fly, but as long as they’re all the same, there’s no real difference.</p><p>Of course, this isn’t simple. The laser driver needs to push many amps to get a fast enough rise time, and the only sensor that’s fast enough to not smear the signal is a photomultiplier tube. But persistence pays off, and the results are pretty incredible for something that you could actually do in your garage.</p><p>Photomultiplier tubes are pretty damn cool, and can not only detect very short light events, <a href="https://hackaday.com/2024/09/12/how-photomultipliers-detect-single-photons/">but also very weak ones, down to a single photon</a>. Indeed, they’re cool enough that if you get yourself a few hundred thousand of them and put them in a dark place, you’re on your way to a <a href="https://hackaday.com/2023/11/14/detecting-neutrinos-the-slippery-ghost-particles-that-dont-want-to-interact/">neutrino detector.</a> <span id="more-751082"></span></p><p><iframe loading="lazy" title="I built a 1,000,000,000 fps video camera to watch light move" width="800" height="450" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/IaXdSGkh8Ww?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://hackaday.com/2024/12/25/taking-movies-of-light-in-flight/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>10</slash:comments> <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">751082</post-id> <media:thumbnail url="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/i-built-a-1000000000-fps-video-camera-to-watch-light-move-iaxdsgkh8ww-webm-shot0001_featured.png" /> <media:content url="https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/i-built-a-1000000000-fps-video-camera-to-watch-light-move-iaxdsgkh8ww-webm-shot0001_featured.png" medium="image"> <media:title type="html">i-built-a-1000000000-fps-video-camera-to-watch-light-move-iaxdsgkh8ww-webm-shot0001_featured</media:title> </media:content> </item> </channel></rss> If you would like to create a banner that links to this page (i.e. this validation result), do the following:
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