How octopuses can light up your room

Light is indispensable in our lives, but it consumes a lot of electricity. A biological phenomenon has inspired the Dutch student Teresa Van Dongen to come up with a lamp, called Ambio, that doesn’t need electricity; the light of this lamp is produced by bioluminescent bacteria.

A tube with sea water and bacteria

Some bacteria light up in the ocean as they get into contact with oxygen with every wave (see picture). This has inspired Van Dongen to put these bioluminescent bacteria into a tube containing a saltwater solution to re-enact the ocean’s movements. This causes the bacteria to light up and that’s how the room gets filled with light. However, you have to tap the tube from time to time to keep the wave movement going, so the bacteria keep glowing.

Octopuses and plankton

So, where do you find these bacteria? Well, they can be found on octopuses, jellyfish, plankton and other small sea creatures. Of course, there is food inside the tube of the lamp to keep the bacteria alive and shining. Currently, Van Dongen is looking for ways to lengthen the life of these bacteria to keep the light “burning” longer.

Where design and biology meet

This lamp isn’t just ecological; it’s nice to look at as well. That’s because Ambio originally was the graduation project of Van Dongen for her design studies in Eindhoven. In the future, she hopes to improve her design project and go to expositions to show the possibilities of Ambio.

                                

So, what’s your opinion? Does this lamp have the potential to change the way we think about light or will the glow of this project fade away fast?

Should you want more information, check out an article with Van Dongen on http://www.fontanel.nl/finals/teresa-van-dongen/ to learn more about this project and her other project: Lumist.

Wouter

Sources: http://inhabitat.com/ambio-lamp-glows-with-bioluminescent-bacteria-instead-of-electricity/

 http://www.fontanel.nl/finals/teresa-van-dongen/