While lighting was regarded as only functional for hundreds of thousands of years, it is only in relatively recent years that decorative lighting has become popular. And the switch to this happened with the larger scale availability of light sources to the public that were safer than candles and the old gaslight.

We credit the electric light bulb to Thomas Edison in 1878, but we forget that modern lighting emerged in 1802 with Humphry Davy’s carbon arc lamp. But once the discovery and more widespread use of electricity came to the forefront, there was a boom in lighting technology. The discovery of LED technology started in 1907 when Henry Joseph Round discovered that volts applied to carborundum crystal emitted a yellowish light, and this spiralled rapidly into the LED technology of today with usable LEDS in various colours.

For a more concise version of this history, Festive Lights have created a video that tells the story of how we came “Out of the Dark” – how lighting changed from something we needed to survive to something that can be decorative. A world without the LED technology of today would be entirely unrecognisable without energy saving bulbs, car headlights, LED TV screens and, of course, the iconic fairy Christmas lights.

The post The history of energy saving LEDs appeared first on Green Prophet.

Studio Cheha’s Nir Chehanowski has designed an extraordinary flat LED lamp that looks three dimensional. Called Bulbing, the lamp is made of high quality materials and manufactured locally in Tel Aviv.

It looks like a bulging three dimensional bulb, but actually it’s only 5mm thick and 100 percent flat.

Studio Cheha uses a laser cutting process to cut out the acrylic glass, which is known for its superior light-transmitting  properties. Each lamp comes with five different designs that are easily lifted out of the base.

“Bulbing is a development of my earlier works,” writes Chehanowski, “using 3D wire-frame images and transferring them onto 2D materials, to create functional and delicate design pieces that trick the eye!”

In addition to having the surprise element that is certain to impress guests, the energy-efficient LED bulb produces an warm glow without overheating. And it will last up to 50,000 hours!

The base is CNC-cut from plywood birch and then handcrafted and sanded, ensuring the most dedicated attention to detail and resulting in a truly spectacular design that is bound to liven up any room.

“All circuitry is wired, adhering to the highest electric standards,” Studio Cheha notes in their Kickstarter campaign. 

“Upon placing the acrylic glass design in the lamp’s base (where the LED is positioned), the light breaks through the etched surface.”

If you’d like to support the campaign, you can have your very own optical illusion at home. There are several designs to choose from, including a skull, teddy bear, galaxy or a starry night.

:: Studio Cheha

The post Studio Cheha’s awesome optical illusion makes flat LED lamps look 3D appeared first on Green Prophet.