(Note: after posting this, I realize it is not at all clear unless you are an expert in optics, if then. I will try to post a diagram soon that explains the idea in greater detail.)
The idea is to build a large flat object that when fed light via a fiber optic cable or channel produces an even, diffuse source of light without any losses.
The idea is to build a large flat object that when fed light via a fiber optic cable or channel produces an even, diffuse source of light without any losses.
Such a device would make more practical the idea of using solar power for internal illumination, as well as allowing a single highly efficient light source to provide better lighting.
I expect this to require computer modeling, a basic understanding of optics and fiber optics, creative geometry, and possibly an exploration of surface properties.
Success criterion is to build a functional lamp (by which I mean a wall-hangable light fixture, not a desk lamp) that provide pleasant illumination.
If we define "perfect" mathematically as producing perfectly even light (which would have to have a definition of direction as well as brightness from a given part of the luminaire) this is an interesting mathematical problem in optics which doesn't require very much knowledge of materials.
I personally don't know if this is old-hat, or if it has never been researched. It is possible this problem has already been solved---if so, please enlighten me.
It seems to me this is an area in which amateur researchers could hope to make a significant contribution.
Wow -- maybe for you this doesn't require much knowledge, but it's certainly beyond my abilities. On the bright side (pun intended), creating a light that is as full spectrum and evenly distributed as sunlight would be great, especially for people like me with weak eyesight who need all the help we can get. So if I see any info that could be useful, I'll send it on to you.
ReplyDeleteActually, I'm not addressing the "full spectrum" idea. Although I mention using sunlight, once sunlight enters glass (or acrylic) the frequency distribution changes. This is normally a good thing, since it blocks UV (it's bad if your a plant.)
ReplyDeleteSo setting that aside the problem is simple---which may mean it lies on the thin boundary between the trivial and impossible.
The idea is: Can you make a rectangle of glass (or plastic) that is about the size of a window, such that if you shine a very bright light into a cable coming out of one corner, it produces a nice even rectangle of light without appreciable losses in energy?
I'm implying that there is some subtle shaping of the glass that will accomplish this, but I suppose it is not obvious.
This problem could be attacked with a computer, or a geometer could think real hard about it.
If we had such a device, we could indeed power it by driving sunlight into the cable (say on the roof), and bringing the cable down (say to the lowest floor) to create a "skylight", even thought there is a floor above you. In fact the idea of building lighting systems base on fiber optic cables is not new---it is done in places where you don't want electricity next to what you are lighting for some reason. But it has never been practically carried out on a "consumer" scale---that is what I would like to see.