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Thread: optical fiber from lighting

  1. #1
    Join Date
    May 2018
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    Default optical fiber from lighting

    This video popped in my suggested list today https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiYOw5NsoKY relevant parts are beginning and 2:51.

    While I don't get the point of transmitting light from the sun to the house via optical fibers rather than just using the windows because the sun is out or turning it into heat, then electricity and using that, it still got me curious.
    Are there materials that are flexible enough to be used as cables but will be able to transmit enough light equivalent of say one 60W lightbulb without overheating and melting?

    Again, I don't see much point in this, but would be a cool thing to have in the house even to just impress the guests. Like a "light bulb" emitting light just because its a sunny weather.

  2. #2
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    Jan 2006
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    Quote Originally Posted by piydadorto View Post
    I don't get the point of transmitting light from the sun to the house via optical fibers rather than just using the windows
    It's called a remote skylight. Many office buildings have interior rooms that do not have access to natural lighting (no windows). This is an alternative to artificial lighting. It's expensive to install, but some higher-end clients like the idea of providing natural daylight to some of the more isolated areas of their buildings.

    Are there materials that are flexible enough to be used as cables but will be able to transmit enough light equivalent of say one 60W lightbulb without overheating and melting?
    Yes. I did some consulting for a project in New York that used a 1 meter dish and a cold mirror (dichro that passes IR and reflects visible light) to ensure just the visible spectrum would be coupled to the fiber. I think they ended up building a few dozen of the things.

    Each dish was mounted on a separate drive unit on the roof that tracked the sun across the sky. The fiber fed into a ceiling-mounted domed fixture with a diverging lens and a diffuser. The fiber bundle consisted of multiple strands of cheap, low-grade multi-mode fiber packed together to create a "light-pipe" that was ~ 3/4 of an inch in diameter.

    It worked, but like I said, it was expensive. I see the point, but I didn't think it was cost-effective. (Still don't...)

    Adam

  3. #3
    Join Date
    May 2018
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    yeah, me neither

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