15 May 2012

100,000 Lights Floating Downriver

During Tokyo's Hotaru Festival lately 100,000 illuminated blue LEDs were released in the city's river. The solar-powered spheres bobbed their way down the river, drawn in the flow. They looked like the milky way or the freaky phosphorescence you can encounter in southern oceans. The glowing spheres were later caught downstream by giant nets although I like to think that one or two got away and are now exploring the Pacific.

Fig 1.

Fig 2. Photos by jeremy v, makure and ajpscs.

2 comments:

  1. Coenraad Walters16 May, 2012 15:01

    Sometimes it takes so little to create something beautiful. I'm pleased about the (largely successful) attempt to remove the LEDs from the environment afterwards.

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  2. Ah, but imagine Coenraad. Just a couple of them bobbing along toward Chile, tiny on the dark sea, like stars that fell out of the sky.

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