Dutch designer Teresa van Dongen’s new lamp, Spark of Life, is an LED pendant powered by living organisms that require regular feeding, according to Dezeen’s Alice Morby. It’s totally powered by electrochemically active bacteria, so it doesn’t need to be plugged in.
This bacteria, which is contained in four compartments inside the sperical lamp, constantly emits small electrical currents. These electrical currents are captured inside an electrode, which sends the energy toward LEDs in the middle of the light.
The organism living in the lamp need to be taken care of to continue producing power:
“Every two weeks you add a teaspoon of acetate to the fluid,” says van Dongen. She advises that the vessels should be cleaned and refilled with tap water, salt, and vitamins every few months.
“It’s more of a work in development, because I recently discovered that the bacteria works better when you attach more LEDs per electrode,” she said. “There’s the possibility of enhancing the amount of light it will emit.”
Read more about the lamp on Dezeen >>