This weekend I am enclosing a newspaper article on a new such product
innovation i.e. Gravitylight which basically uses gravity to provide
lighting. It is cheap, easy to handle and has the prowess to solve the
lighting problems across most of the developing world. Interested souls can
do googling to find out more on the same.
The problem of bringing light to remote parts of the developing world has
been tackled in the past with everything from solar-powered lamps to
wind-up devices and rechargeable batteries – all of which require
relatively expensive kit or physical effort by the user.
But two London-based designers have now developed a light source that
operates on the stuff that surrounds you – earth, rocks or sand – with the
helping hand of gravity.
Developed by Martin Riddiford and Jim Reeves over the last four years, the
GravityLight is simply charged by a bag that is filled with around 9kg of
material and hung from a cord below the light. As the bag descends, a
series of gears inside the device translates this weight into energy,
providing 30 minutes of light. The light strength can be adjusted, from
strong task lighting to a longer-lasting low-level glow, and two terminals
on the front allow it to be used as a generator so it can recharge other
devices including radios and batteries.
The project originally emerged from a brief by charity Solar Aid to come up
with a low-cost light source as an alternative to the ubiquitous kerosene
lamps that provide the main source of light across the developing world –
but which come with their own set of health problems.
The World Bank estimates that 780 million women and children around the
world inhale a volume of smoke equivalent to smoking two packets of
cigarettes a day – leading to the statistic that 60% of female lung-cancer
victims in developing nations are non-smokers. The fumes also cause eye
infections and cataracts, while 2.5 million people per year suffer severe
burns from kerosene lamps in India alone. It also comes with a huge
financial burden: the cost of kerosene for lighting alone can account for
20% of household income.
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As I always say, brickbats and bouquets welcome
-Sukhi
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