I like where Youtube user DanieleMattei is going with his video Filter control via light blob tracking in Processing. Using OpenCV and Processing (what else!), he rigged up a way to control the parameters of his synth by waving a flashlight around.
A friend of mine recently finished a deck remodel, whose highlight (literally) is a transparent corrugated roof that diffuses sunlight in a delightful way. This inspired me to find some way to continue that glow after sunset, in the form of a lantern illuminated by tea light candles.
There are many colors and styles of corrugated roofing available, and whole 8-foot sheets (Sequentia brand) are $23 at my local lumberyard — that’s enough material for up to 10 lanterns. The kind my friend used for the deck is fiberglass-reinforced plastic (FRP), which diffracts light with a sparkly halo. After some feverish experimenting with cut-off scraps, I eventually came up with the graceful lantern design shown here.
From the MAKE Flickr pool … where no LED has gone before. Observe the maiden voyage of a tiny space-faring ship. Upon encountering the above-seen “magnetic anomaly” the ship’s onboard magnetic reed switch is activated. Chief engineer Origamiwolf explains the ship’s schematics – A resistor is added to each of the red LED branches; this […]
Bruno Mathez’s striking experiment with sound and light, Beam Music – What you’re seeing is a dark attic space in which the frames of wood and the pipes are being lit by a very precise ray of light, giving us the illusion that the light comes from inside the object. Each lit object has its […]
Our new MAKE magazine columnist, iconic electronics guru Forrest M. Mims III (see “Country Scientist,” MAKE, Volume 17) has a piece up on the Jameco website about using a laser pointer to create cool laser-light patterns to capture with a digital camera: The coherent properties of a laser beam provide an ideal tool for creating […]
Environmental Graffiti has a roundup of amazing light phenomena photos, with nice pithy explanations of the science. Via Mr.Reid The collision of electronically charged particles in the earth’s upper atmosphere often creates magnificent light displays over the polar regions. The colour depends on the elemental content of the particles – most auroras appear green or […]
Photography by Trevor Shannon and Katie Dektar Make an easy LED headlight from a garden hose adapter. By Trevor Shannon I wanted to build a small, bright, and durable LED light for my bike, and I read online that plumbing parts work well as housings. So I made a 3-LED headlamp that’s enclosed by a […]
