Mechanical light bulb from 1675 [video] | Hacker News Reader

Mechanical light bulb from 1675 [video]

youtube.com

88 pointskadohg50 comments

For those who want to read the wiki article:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barometric_light

If you've never seen neon up close, plasma is such an incredible light source. It's like the light is just floating being emitted from empty space. I took a neon workshop a few years ago, and it became clear why people are still willing to painstakingly make these signs - there is really nothing comparable to them, they're like magic

I love plasma so much, I have multiple “Jr.” globes from Aurora Plasma Design (which have a voltage? adjustment knob), some gas tubes, ancient indicator bulbs from Ukraine/Russia, and an ancient VTG/Rabbit Systems “Eye of the Storm” E-6000 globe from 1987 (which has two adjustment sliders, and a few cheapo globes.

If you are interested in a globe, I’d highly recommend the “Phoenix Rising” Jr. globe they offer. At lower powers it’s near silent, and you can typically adjust them down to have 3-5 small tendrils wafting around each other lazily. APD’s gloves also have thicker glass, and are rated for running all day at below 80% power. At full power my phoenix rising globe uses ~12 watts, and at the lowest power it’s something like 3-4 watts. Unfortunately tariffs, inflation and noble gas cost have hammered the price in the last year.

I definitely prefer silent and lazy looking plasma instead of the frantic screeching storms that most globes have. I uploaded a few example videos here: https://imgur.com/a/bg8fsCW

One thing you can often do is take a cheapo Chinese glove, and use a voltage adjustable power supply and tune it down that way, though I couldn’t tell you if that’s ok for the electronics long term or not.

Another thing to look into if you love plasma, are toroids (donuts).

Example video demonstration: https://youtu.be/Q4sUre79ncA

More if you liked that:

Zerg Labs [TeslaCoilPro]: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRKfNzc7-524yD8nlyZC5Zg

BackMacSci: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7D566ClLdr1By2JnKh_DgA

zilipoper: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJeTqOt4xDuL2imX7zYnJlw

for a moment I thought this was going to be about arc-lights in the 1800s that mechanically touch electrodes and then draw apart

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arc_lamp

it's amazing how far we've come

think about Benjamin Franklin twenty-five years before Declaration of Independence naming the first "battery" (out of the concept of lined-up artillery) by connecting a series of lynden jars (basically capacitors) - he also invented the concept of +/- positive and negative

now we've got space telescopes and probes leaving the solar system

imagine what's coming in another 300 years

> naming the first "battery" (out of the concept of lined-up artillery)

That's an amazing fun fact.

Another fun fact is that it was impossible to deduce from any of Ben Franklin's experiments what material was transferred and what material remained in place to give rise to "charge" as we think of it. So he picked a convention that we've continued to use even after we learned that his negative charges were the material that gets transferred by friction.

On the plus side, in electroplating the positive ions are what actually moves. So in the experiments where you can visually see something move from one terminal to the other the conventional current direction is obviously correct.

Franklin also invented the lightning rod, something which we take for granted these days.

For any SF based people the Roxy Theater in the Mission is one of the few operating theaters that STILL use this (bc the others burned down)

https://missionlocal.org/2025/07/sf-roxie-theater-projection...

if you donate you can get a tour :)

I wish I could just buy one of these as a commercial product. I'll never be able to make this and it's too cool to not be able to buy.

Maybe someone that has seen this first hand can chime in but I strongly suspect the real-life effect viewed with naked eye is much more disappointing compared to what is shown in this video. Real physics ain't need to get them likes and subscribes.

But did you not _hear_ this guy absolutely gush about how much of a spectacle it was for minutes straight?

Not sure if /s but this is one of his more calm videos lol

Most mercury products are forbidden in Europe.

https://environment.ec.europa.eu/topics/chemicals/mercury_en

I don't know much about this genre but it comes to mind this this could fill in the gap in Steampunk for where light comes from without electricity as we know it. At any rate it seems very steampunk but it's 200 older than it needs to be.

I wish these could be made with something non toxic. Having one on my desk to shake would be a great fidget spinner.

Just drink a little bit at a time to buoys up an immunity.

To put it in perspective, people used to consume mercury-based medicine. I'm sure if the glass is thick enough, the risk of a spill (and your health) will be generally managed.

People used to do a lot of stupid stuff. If you live alone and are conscious of the risk, sure, this is not a terribly dangerous item if you're safe about it. If you live with pets or children, it's entirely sensible to be concerned about the risk. A mercury spill can seep between the floorboards and contaminate your house with volatile mercury vapors for years to come if not properly managed.

Relevant video series from the same guy, testing chemistry recipes from 1933: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIM6943BSRA

A few hours after I wrote the above comment, my wife dropped a thick bottle of nail polish and it shattered.

That being said, life without any risk is boring.

I suspect eutectic liquid InGa alloys would work, they stop wetting the glass when you are under vacuum. Although mercury is safe in the tube, just don't break the glass.

Is this "mechanical"?

Reply on news.ycombinator.com