Lanterns 4/5

  On Thursday we began working on our lanterns. At the beginning of class we had a brief discussion about what our lanterns needed to include before he turned us loose. We basically have to build a circuit with a LED or two in it, and a structure to contain the batteries and the circuit. We also have to have switches so that we can turn our lights on and off. Our lanterns should be as small as possible.
    We also talked about what our last project might be like. So far, all I know for sure is that it will be interactive. Our professor also showed us some clips of “useless machines,” machines whose only purpose is to turn themselves off. I know that it is weird to personify machines, but I think that useless machines are pretty great because everyone can relate to them. Or, at least I can.
    Our professor gave us some ideas about how we could structure our circuits depending on the number of LEDs we want and how we want them switch on and off. The important thing to remember is that LEDs will only work for a certain range of voltages, depending on the color of the LED.  We can use Ohm’s law to calculate what resistors we need to put in our circuit in order for our LEDs to work. The one thing that I was somewhat confused about was how we know what the current is. Our professor gave us some values, but I am not sure how he got them. He also showed us some ways that we can build our switches. He gave us one idea for a design that was actually pretty close to what I had been envisioning. He suggested that we use a living hinge to create a cylinder to enclose the circuit. I was picturing an octagonal prism with the switches on the side and the lights shining through the top.
    For this project we are working in groups. I am working with Hannah and Erin. We all had a lot of ideas about how to build our lantern. And, I think to Erin’s dismay, we even talked about the possibility of incorporating fabric or knitting into our design to help influence the direction that the light shines. Eventually we all settled on a pyramid shaped lantern with a base that is a rectangular prism that will hold the batteries and the circuit. We want our lantern to have 3 LEDs . Hannah wanted to have a red LED in our lantern so that she could use it for astronomy. Erin and I wanted to have a white LED, so we decided to use red, green and blue LEDs. That way if we shine them all together, the light might look white. Unfortunately, we could not find green LEDs, instead we will use yellow. We did find some cool bicolor LEDs that change color when you flip them. Also, we found switches, so we won’t have to engineer that aspect mechanically.
    We still have a lot to think about when it comes to our design, but I am glad that we at least have a good start!