It's a nice idea, but I'd like to see what happens with them on a cloudy day.

>> ^Bhruic:
It's a nice idea, but I'd like to see what happens with them on a cloudy day.


I suppose they turn the electric lights on then.

That is actually a very nice way of saving energy. I wonder if this kind of technology could be used in buildings that have more than just a thin sheet of metal for a roof. Natural light in a room with no windows is just cool!

Using the Sun . . . to provide LIGHT? GENIUS!!

There are light pipes being installed in quite a few modern buildings.  None as cheap as this though.

What a great, simple solution. I would imagine that with some strategically placed reflectors on the roof even a cloudy day would produce useable lighting.

THIS IS WITCHCRAFT! Harnessing the Suns power to produce light?! Burn Them! BURN THEM AT THE STAKE!!

mmmmm.....steak *drools*

NIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICE housing! I want to hire their contractor to install my roof.

But seriously, in a place where it never rains, no problems with leakage with those things I guess. And considering it's always 90000000 degrees, the sun is out every day. What happens when you get up to take a shit in the middle of the night though? O.o

all they need is a solar panel and a battery, and they can store the excess energy they channel during the day to power traditional lights when they need them at night. that would further save them money when they have to use electric lighting at night or on overcast days.

I wonder how they secure them to the ceiling. Caulk I guess?

That is a fantastic idea. I imagine rainy days are like their version of "power outages", except they would then have their old electric lights as back-up.

*magic

Adding video to channels (Magic) - requested by pipp3355.

it's a very very very cheap alternative for roof solar panels and solar pipes...human ingenuity at its best

nice

When it's NIGHT, they turn on the ELECTRIC lights, see? They have electricity, they just don't want to waste it during the day.

If they can afford electricity, why hell is everyone's roof made of corrugated steel/aluminum?

This reminds me of the millions of dollars NASA spent trying to perfect a pressurized pen that would write in zero gravity on space missions.

The Russians used a pencil.

So what exactly does the bleach do?

^ I imagine it's necessary to prevent algae and mould from growing in the bottle and turning it black.

>> ^raverman:
This reminds me of the millions of dollars NASA spent trying to perfect a pressurized pen that would write in zero gravity on space missions.
The Russians used a pencil.


I would also like to add I actually used a couple of those pens in the Navy. They hardly work for shit. Maybe you have to be in zero g for them to work. Bring on the pencil.

But but, what if Mr Burns blocks the sun?!?

Too bad roofs in America aren't just sheet metal. It complicates installation a little.

all show and no go.

engineering something with more complexity for no reason is bad engineering. cutting a hole in the roof with and installing a hatch/laying a board over it would provide much more light and better protection from weather.

Follow-up solution: "Sky-light"

It's a transparent interface on the ceiling that doubles as a transparent interface on the roof.
Revolutionary.
You can actually see the sky. And it provides light when there's light to be had from the sky.
Revolutionary.

>> ^raverman:
This reminds me of the millions of dollars NASA spent trying to perfect a pressurized pen that would write in zero gravity on space missions.
The Russians used a pencil.


False. Both the americans and the soviets initially used pencils, but it is dangerous if a piece of graphite broke and floated around inadvertently. It could affect instruments, get into your eyes, etc. Also, a free oxygen environment makes the wood of the pencil and probably also the graphite more prone to burn or combust.

Good analogy on seeking simple solutions to a problem, but completely made up and incorrect.

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=fact-or-fiction-nasa-spen
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Pen#Uses_in_the_U.S._and_Russian_space_programs

lol .. just make a hole in roof and cover with plastic tarp.

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