Gravity Light

[the game]

So I found out about these cool little lights that use weight to power a light. They're trying to use these to provide light to places that don't have electricity. This would be kind of useful for natural disasters when people have to go extended amounts of time without electricity.

https://gravitylight.org/journey-so-far/

[HumbleDuck]

Is there any technical schematics of this invention?
To be frank It sounds like scam.

[vindicatorx]

Is there any technical schematics of this invention?
To be frank It sounds like scam.

you can buy one on best buy's site https://www.bestbuy.com/site/gravity...hoCddUQAvD_BwE

[WskyDK]

you can buy one on best buy's site https://www.bestbuy.com/site/gravity...hoCddUQAvD_BwE

SO that's +1 in the scam column

[Deleted]

so we've gone from clocks powered by wieghts to lights? over 500 years in the making >.<

Yet if you read the artical. i think it said 25 mins of light with a 10 kg weight and a fall of 1.8 meters. that's alot of pulling for a nights worth of light

[WskyDK]

so we've gone from clocks powered by wieghts to lights? over 500 years in the making >.<

Yet if you read the artical. i think it said 25 mins of light with a 10 kg weight and a fall of 1.8 meters. that's alot of pulling for a nights worth of light

The individuals who will take advantage of this, likely don't need an entire night worth of light.

[Yunru]

They look to me something similar that a mix of a old clock and a phone hand generator.




But the system must be very complicated to make it work.
I can see a downside of it:


You cant realy turn it off unless you move weights in a position that stops them from moving.


But the light they create cant be that strong.

[Deleted]

hmm wanted to also see how long nights where in those places and they are roughly 19.30-05.15 so about 9 hours.
Let's say 19-21 that's 1½-2 hours of light 3-5 times and then mabey once in the morning.
So 4-7 times a day? you'd be lifting wieghts, so my good idea is. Instead of just having to lift one wieght every 20-30 mins hav it so you can hav 2 or more wiegts on it, so when one is down the other one well start it's decent. Less time used moving back and forth to reset.
And that awkard moment when it is out and your stumbling in the dark.
and they did also say that after 2 weeks from switching you'll start saving money(cost of their device vs cost of oil lamp).

Now a little problem i might see is. Imagen a kid hitting the wieght and it then falls onto the kid (worst case) but that is much better then having a live flame knocked over.
So even safty reson they might be good like that too.

[WskyDK]

hmm wanted to also see how long nights where in those places and they are roughly 19.30-05.15 so about 9 hours.
Let's say 19-21 that's 1½-2 hours of light 3-5 times and then mabey once in the morning.
So 4-7 times a day? you'd be lifting wieghts, so my good idea is. Instead of just having to lift one wieght every 20-30 mins hav it so you can hav 2 or more wiegts on it, so when one is down the other one well start it's decent. Less time used moving back and forth to reset.
And that awkard moment when it is out and your stumbling in the dark.
and they did also say that after 2 weeks from switching you'll start saving money(cost of their device vs cost of oil lamp).

Now a little problem i might see is. Imagen a kid hitting the wieght and it then falls onto the kid (worst case) but that is much better then having a live flame knocked over.
So even safty reson they might be good like that too.

It's a negligible amount of weight. With the pulley system they use, they claim it's the equivilant of lifting 3kg
Add on top of that, it's not likely that they need the night running all night.

[HumbleDuck]

you can buy one on best buy's site https://www.bestbuy.com/site/gravity...hoCddUQAvD_BwE

I mean we are talking 0.176 watt if running @ ℅100 efficiency. ( Which is impossible, even theoretically) It does technically work, however it might be a better idea to hang a cat from the ceiling and use the reflection of its eye as a light source.

[Ripster42]

SO that's +1 in the scam column

How is it a scam? Are grandfather clocks a scam too?

[IIamaKing]

If you are talking to people on the internet this item is little more than a novelty. If you are living in a place that has never known electricity this is probably close to magic.

[Ripster42]

I mean we are talking 0.176 watt if running @ ℅100 efficiency. ( Which is impossible, even theoretically) It does technically work, however it might be a better idea to hang a cat from the ceiling and use the reflection of its eye as a light source.

15 lumens is doable on that wattage, which is enough to read by, especially with the reflectors they'd have.

[HumbleDuck]

How is it a scam? Are grandfather clocks a scam too?

A hairspring can power up a wrist watch up to around 100 hours. The same hairspring won't keep an LED alive for a minute ...

[Zmaniac17]

How is it a scam? Are grandfather clocks a scam too?

They are just trolling because it's not relevant to them personally.

I'm sure one of these would be very nice if the power was out and batteries were dead. There are a lot of places that don't have grid power and batteries don't last forever. It's much better and safer than candles or any kind of open flame.

[Ripster42]

A hairspring can power up a wrist watch up to around 100 hours. The same hairspring won't keep an LED alive for a minute ...

Which has what to do with this or grandfather clocks? Again, it's enough to power a 15 lumen light bulb, which is enough to read by, for 15 minutes, enough time to make progress on your studies. It's not a luxury. It's a, "I live in a place with no electricity and I want a light to do my homework by," light.

Edit: By light bulb I mean LED, I figured at first that I wouldn't have to say this, but some assholes would make an issue of it.

[HumbleDuck]

15 lumens is doable on that wattage, which is enough to read by, especially with the reflectors they'd have.

Let's say 15 lumens is enough ( which considering that you need around 5000 lumens for a typical room, is absolutely not), tell me why should one pay $70 to these people when they can produce thousands of times more energy by cycling?

- - - Updated - - -

Which has what to do with this or grandfather clocks? Again, it's enough to power a 15 lumen light bulb, which is enough to read by, for 15 minutes, enough time to make progress on your studies. It's not a luxury. It's a, "I live in a place with no electricity and I want a light to do my homework by," light.

Edit: By light bulb I mean LED, I figured at first that I wouldn't have to say this, but some assholes would make an issue of it.

The point was : LED != Grandfather's clock ...

For the rest read above.

[Ripster42]

Let's say 15 lumens is enough ( which considering that you need around 5000 lumens for a typical room, is absolutely not), tell me why should one pay $70 to these people when they can produce thousands of times more energy by cycling?

You're not lighting a room. You're keeping a light 10 inches away from your book with reflectors in the lamp focusing the light on a relatively small book sized space.

- - - Updated - - -

The point was : LED != Grandfather's clock ...

For the rest read above.

They're both gravity powered systems as opposed to a spring powered system. Being gravity powered doesn't make it a scam, which is what this was called.

[HumbleDuck]

You're not lighting a room. You're keeping a light 10 inches away from your book with reflectors in the lamp focusing the light on a relatively small book sized space.

Because of these exact reason ( as unrealistic as they may be) I said let's assume it's enough, and then proposed a question:

why should one pay $70 to these people when they can produce thousands of times more energy by cycling?

This still sounds like a scam, along the lines of self filling water bottle, solar road panels and the hyperloop.

[Kelathos]

"The aim was to create a sustainable alternative to kerosene lamps."

I think they accomplished their goal if it provides more light than a lamp.