In 2004 artist Richard Box produced a series of works of 1301 fluorescent tubes powered only by the electric fields generated by overhead powerlines.
USC Institute for Creative Technologies presents (at SIGGRAPH 2007), a new low-cost autostereoscopic 3D display.
Mitch at watchismo has been importing the excellent LIP watch revivals. I’m the proud owner of the very first “new” 1972 24 Hour Watch #29b imported into the US:
Mitch writes:
LIP watches have been around for over 150 years but were unavailable in the United States until now. The company is reintroducing some of their most important models from a modern collection that remains as visionary today as when first unveiled 35 years ago. Most are faithful recreations while others have been updated with new designer visions.
The Mach 2000 and Revival Seventies collections were the brainchild of a revolutionary collective of French industrial designers, architects, interior decorators, and graphic designers. In the 1960s and 1970s, LIP enlisted a handful of these creatives to bring their truly original ideas of timekeeping to life in a series of watches. Among them was the prolific Roger Tallon, who designed everything from high-speed French TGV trains to the 1964 Helicoid Staircase (part of the MoMa Design Collection). Tallon’s LIP designs include the iconic Mach 2000 series, with asymmetrical cases and unmistakable ball pushers and crowns
Examples of other LIP watches:
See them all at Watchismo.com
Born February 11th, 1847 Edison would eventually be credited with 1093 patents over his 84 years. While many of these patents were improvements on other inventions or largely the work of his gifted employees there is no doubt of his profound effect on our way of life and the machines that surround us.
Shown here in 1888 while working on his photograph
A photograph of my circa 1920s Ediphone dictation machine (shown open to see the motor) - a close relative of his phonograph. There is a selector switch that allows it to run on both AC and DC currents during the period of the War Of the Currents.
Excellent New York Times article
Neatorama’s 10 Fascinating Facts About Edison
“Ive’s inspiration on Rams’ design principles goes beyond the philosophy and gets straight into a direct homage to real products created decades ago. Amazing pieces of industrial design that still today remain fresh, true classics that have survived the test of time.
The similarities between products from Braun and Apple are sometimes uncanny, others more subtle, but there’s always a common root that provides the new Apple objects not only with a beautiful simplicity but also with a close familiarity.”
via gizmodo
“Jos the finch” in The Netherlands makes extraordinary stirling engines of striking designs. These are only a couple of his amazing machines. It’s shocking that he gets such high efficiency from only a couple of tea candles.
translated home page from dutch
Wikipedia entry for “hot air” or sterling engines
Dylan Kehde Roelofs makes fantastic hand made light bulbs on
incandescentsculpture.com
“Technical details:
Life span: If you are content with the wan and soulless photons emitted by compact fluorescence , read no further.
The emphasis of these art objects is on their sculptural form and lighting quality, not quantity.”
I like them so much I bought one of the small four legged ones
via dezeen