Scientists Have Created Artificial Sunlight: Real Enough To Trick Your Brain
Navanshu Agarwal
Ever seen The Matrix and wondered what if humans were really forced underground in the aftermath of a nuclear war or say an invasion by robots? Would we have to spend our entire lives devoid of sunlight? Well, this may be termed thinking too much but one of the latest innovations by the Italian company CoeLux could help us to feel the sunlight on our faces even if such a situation arises.
Italian scientists have actually developed an artificial LED sunlight system that seriously looks just like real daylight streaming through a skylight. The LED skylight uses a thin coating of nanoparticles to recreate the effect that makes the sky blue, known as Rayleigh Scattering. This means that the artificial sunlight doesn't just light up a room, so to speak, it also produces the texture and feel of sunlight. In fact, it's so good, it really tricks the brain into thinking you're outdoors – even if you're kilometres underground.
The artificial sunlight is currently available in three configurations that mimics sunlight at different points on the globe including Nordic environments, Mediterranean, and tropical. The CoeLux artificial sunlight could also be used widely in photography studios for developing the natural light effect. Moreover, it could also be used anywhere where the light is scarce, from extreme environments like scientific outposts to underground parking garages, hospitals, gyms, offices or even below ground spas.
Paolo Di Trapani , one of the scientists who worked on the device believes that the skylight will allow developers of the future to not just build up, but also far down below the ground- without any of the dinginess that currently keeps us above ground.
But be prepared to pull your purse strings because the it costs around US$61,000 to buy and then around US$7,000 for installation.But in the future, the developers hope to find a way to drop the cost, and also want to make the position of the sun in the "sky" variable, as well as the dynamic colour temperature of their light.
Also read: Google's Hot New Investment: SolarCity
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