A team of engineers from the UK have invented the worlds first lightbulb powered by the force of gravity.
The device, named GravityLight, relies on a small amount of weight to be applied to it on one end, which then acts as a pulley – giving the user around 20-30 minutes of light.
Sciencealert.com reports:
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The team is now crowd-funding the second version of GravityLight on Indiegogo, with the hope that they can raise US$199,000 in order to make their light brighter, longer-lasting and easier to use.
The light itself will only cost around US$10. This is a whole lot cheaper than kerosene lamps, which not only pose a high fire risk and spew out carcinogens, they also burn through about 30 percent of a family’s income, according to the GravityLight team.
GravityLight will be initially targeted to families in developing countries, with an initial focus on Kenya, and the team is hoping to provide local jobs by creating and selling the lights over there.
Of course, the best thing about gravity is that it’s free (well, that, and the fact that it stops us all from floating off into space), so once the initial investment has been made, the lights literally cost nothing to run. We love it when people use simple science to help solve global problems.
