A scientist has created a revolutionary wireless light bulb that levitates and has a staggering lifetime of 22 years.
The ‘Flyte’ levitating light bulb cleverly uses magnets to float in the air and hovers above a wooden base.
The hi-tech light bulb can be switched on and off by just touching the base and it draws power wirelessly from the charger block it hovers above.
It’s inventor is art scientist, Simon Morris, 37, who was inspired by the concept of a hoverboard as a child. His energy-efficient invention rotates if spun, hovers in the air using magnetic levitation and is given light by induction technology. Flyte, which is currently being funded on crowd-funding site Kickstarter, will be on sale for around £260 ($395) and can even charge phones. Simon, who is from New York City in the US but is based in Stockholm, Sweden, said: ‘Flyte is a combination of Flying and Light.
‘Wireless power transfer was invented by Nikola Tesla in the early 20th century. If left un-touched, Flyte consumes very little power and will remain levitating and rotating endlessly.
‘The light bulb has a lifetime of 22 years based on six hours use a day or 11 years at 12 hours per day.’
The long lifetime is due to the bulb using low-energy LED lights to create light, rather than filaments as some other more short-lived light bulbs use.
How The Flyte Bulb Levitates: Flyte levitates using magnetic levitation. A magnet is embedded in the bottom cap of the bulb and suspends in the air through its opposing force from the wooden base. Levitation is achieved when the bulb is placed at the centre point of the base. Power is transferred wirelessly from the base to the bulb with a technology called induction.
Mr Morris said the bulb hasn’t changed over the past 135 years and wanted to create something which could revolutionise lighting.
He said: ‘I wanted to challenge this by offering a different perspective on an iconic symbol – the light bulb.
‘It is a mix between craft, art, and technology and also doubles as a wireless phone charger.’
