From: c.knight_at_juno.com
Date: 10/03/02
Date: Thu, 3 Oct 2002 11:52:16 -0500 Subject: Re: Omega Garden - High-density gardening for small spaces/urban farming Message-ID: <20021003.115219.736.4.c.knight@juno.com> From: c.knight_at_juno.com
> What kind of light spectrum did this light provide?
> Was it like an HPS, suitable for using indoors for growing?
6000K, similar to daylight. I found several sites that talk
about it, and a supplier for the system. no idea what it costs,
but its efficiency would justify its higher cost, and pay for
itself, at least in a commercial environment. It's a fixed wattage,
though...1000W.
http://arch.hku.hk/~kpcheung/daylight/day-8.htm
> Or as you mentioned below, heliostats (I'm not exactly sure what
> this
> is, I'll do some searches on google), reflectors and that kind of
> stuff.
A heliostat is simply a sun-tracking concentrator. Notice I
didn't say reflector, because there are many ways to concentrate
light.
The simplest choices are to use something that looks like a satellite
dish, but mirrored. Simple, and intuitive. Coupled to the fiber at
the focus.
Another way is to use a big fresnel lens...same idea.
Another way is to use flat mirror tiles, and aim them so that they
all reflect onto a common point. There are home experimenters doing
this, with computer control, and achieving remarkable results.
Yet another way is an optical concentrator that does not utilize an
imaging system. Think of it as a light funnel.
http://hep.uchicago.edu/solar/NIoptics.html
> One thing I've been wondering too, now that I'm thinking about
> it...with fibre (and a Sola-Tube too, I would think), you'd only
> want
> the light to come out the END... but if you were using as a source
> for
> an Omega Garden you'd want it to radiate from the sides, for the
> entire
> length of the garden only, to evenly distribute the light. Is this
> kind of thing possible, perhaps with a change in materials, or a
> change
> in covering?
http://arch.hku.hk/~kpcheung/daylight/day-8.htm
3M light pipes with a prismatic texture. Basically you introduce light
into one end, and they radiate it out along their length, looking almost
like a fluorescent.
Traditional installations use a 1000 watt bulb at one end, but any
light source will work.
I once saw a demonstration where a LASER beam was directed into
the film these things are made of. The beam was reflected internally,
and the whole thing glowed evenly, despite having only a pinpoint of
light feeding the whole system.
Here is a site talking about its use in real life installations:
http://www.3m.com/intl/CH/english/archive/story4_980326.html
I just emailed 3M...trying to get some samples and some literature.
> Also, what about UV, would it be possible to convey that kind of
> light
> too, as it too has it's uses in growing?
Yes, no, and maybe. I think 3M's product doesn't conduct UV very
well, but surely it's not the only game in town.
-- Chuck Knight
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