Skip to main content

This lamp runs 8 hours on just a glass of seawater


Rural areas in the Philippines with no access to electricity depend on candles, kerosene lamps or battery operated lanterns as common household light sources. But aside from being costly and inefficient, they are also dangerous to use. Now, thanks to Engr. Aisa Mijeno, a lamp that is totally safe, environmentally-friendly, and capable of emitting light on just a glass of salt water will soon brighten up these communities.

   Aisa was inspired to design the SALt lamp (SALt is a contraction of Sustainable Alternative Living) after living with the natives of Kalinga's Butbut tribe for days relying only on kerosene lamps and moonlight to do evening chores.

   So how does it work? As simple as it sounds, the lamp uses a solution of one glass of water mixed with two tablespoons of salt to provide 8 hours of light. It will even run off seawater. Oh, and did I mention that you can also charge your smartphone or tablet from the lamp?

   The device uses the same science that forms the basis of battery-making. In a typical battery, two metal electrodes are dipped into an electrolyte solution. In this case, the electrolyte is salt water. The electrode in the SALt lamp can last up to a year, depending on how often and long it is used.

   Currently in the development stage, the people behind the product aim to have the lamps mass produced later in the year. However, their main priority right now is to deliver the SALt lamps to their target communities.

[h/t: Inhabitat]

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Sheri DeBow's Strange Dolls

These dolls by artist Sheri DeBow are hardly something you would buy for a child. Each piece is one of a kind, and people who love to collect strange, creepy, or gothic dolls will surely love her creations. Sheri studied painting and drawing and took sculpture courses at Napa Valley College in California. She says her inspiration comes from dreams, books, love for history and general life experiences, good and bad. To see more of Sheri's work, follow her on Instagram .

Weirdly Charming

If you’re a fan of art that makes you do a double-take, you need to check out  Richard Brener . Based in the UK, Richard is an internationally collected artist who works primarily with ink, fineliners, and gouache. When you first see his pieces, they actually look pretty playful. Then you realize the entire canvas is packed with thousands of tiny, ghost-like shapes he calls "champs." They’re all squeezed together like commuters on a rush-hour train, and the level of detail is honestly mind-blowing. Richard spends hundreds of hours drawing these little guys over and over. It’s obsessive, very intentional, and a little bit wild. The cool part is that the longer you stare, the more the vibe shifts. Check out more photos below:

Eric van Straaten's 3D-Printed Statuettes

I can't remember when I first became entranced with Eric van Straaten 's 3D-printed sculptures. I think I stumbled onto his work through tumblr when I was searching for new artists to follow. Eric's attention to detail is pretty amazing, and the image of the eroticized child-woman is familiar throughout his work. Most of his hyper surreal pieces are 3D-printed in sandstone material, which are created by laying down a thin layer of gypsum powder and using a binding agent and color inks to print a pattern onto it. Once the entire model is printed, it is withdrawn from the print bed and the excess powder is removed. The model is then sealed and ready for display. "I think that the girls I create in my work are visualizations of my own feelings, fantasies and thoughts," the Dutch artist explains. "The girls actually look like someone I (used to) know and the different ‘portraits’ tell something about what I think of myself in regards to her or women ...