21 comments

  • yial 3 days ago ago

    This is such a charming project! I’ve been quite taken for years by the “Christmas” decorations that spin using a candle.

    I quite like these more - mainly because they could be added onto a lamp that puts off heat, and be kind of a perpetual decoration with subtle motion.

    I love your “dad turbine” design, and the flying wing has some magical quality to it.

    Thank you so much for sharing!

  • blacksmith_tb a day ago ago

    It wouldn't (just) be convection, but it would be easy to have a spinner over the top case fan on a PC... though going the other direction, convection off a fanless PC (I have a little Zotac) might be enough to spin a very light spinner (mylar might work, though to get a pivot without friction won't be easy).

  • chews 3 days ago ago

    It's like an on demand do-nothing machine - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kv6YvKPXQzk&list=RDkv6YvKPXQ...

  • lgvld 3 days ago ago

    So cool, thanks for sharing.

    We used to do that as children as well: a spiral cutted out of paper on top of a long skewer stuck into a potato. Felt like perpetual motion somehow.

    It works if you put it on top of a radiator btw.

  • darubedarob a day ago ago

    How can i make on that creates water light ripples on my roof?

    • Evidlo a day ago ago

      Just make a big spinner and put it above a lamp with multiple bulbs. The interference pattern will make a ripple effect.

  • danielbln 3 days ago ago

    These look fun, I'm partial to the dad turbine. Too bad (for something like this) that basically none of my lamps produce much heat these days.

    • anonymousiam 3 days ago ago
      • mohaba 3 days ago ago

        Why would they be in luck? Did you read the article? Just because the efficiency floor is eliminated doesn’t mean production would or even could restart.

      • thayne 3 days ago ago

        Wow. That is disappointing, but not terribly surprising given the current government.

    • Evidlo 3 days ago ago

      I've not found any LED bulbs that didn't put out enough heat to work.

  • dpflug 3 days ago ago

    This feels like the delightful oddities one would stumble across on the Old Internet. Thank you for sharing!

  • andai 3 days ago ago

    Delightful, thank you for sharing. You have added a little bit of whimsy to the world :)

  • IshKebab 3 days ago ago

    Do people still use incandescent bulbs in America?

    • rconti 3 days ago ago

      Looks like they were only (generally) outlawed for sale in 2023. Though some states were ahead of that.

      They last a long time, though, and I imagine a lot of people are still using their existing bulbs. I can't imagine doing that in CA, where our electricity is expensive, but if you're paying 6c/kWh, I suppose, may as well?

    • whitehexagon 2 days ago ago

      A generation of under investment in energy production will create all kinds of government backed environmental propaganda. Incandescent bulbs = bad. Fossil fueled AI data centers = economy.

      If there was a true environmental motivation for reducing our electricity usage, our bills wouldn't be 60% network charges, they would be 100% usage based charges.

      • IshKebab 2 days ago ago

        Wait are you saying that you think incandescent bulbs aren't bad? Wtf?

    • brcmthrowaway 3 days ago ago

      I hope so.

      Some lampshades call for a point source which LEDs struggle to replicate.

      • IshKebab 2 days ago ago

        Wow imagine caring so little about the environment...

  • gridphp 3 days ago ago

    I thought it's something about LAMP Stack! lol