They say one of the main tricks to improve a space is to increase the amount of natural light. But if the room's position is unfavorable or the Sun just doesn't cooperate, nothing stops us from adopting a technological solution. One of the best examples comes from Matt and his DIY Perks channel, who built a highly accurate artificial sun that mimics aspects like the Tyndall effect and Rayleigh scattering.
The Warm vs. Cold Light Dilemma
If there's a first-world problem in my home, it's the classic "warm light vs. cold light". Apparently, everyone wants hospital lights here, and I'm the only one defending my little mini suns. However, that also has its limits, and the idea of new openings has always been under consideration. Now, what if that's not an option? How can we reproduce more natural light? It's not a simple task, and it brings very specific challenges. For example, one of the first goals is to "push back" the light source, so it conveys a greater sense of distance.
Matt's DIY Artificial Sun
Do you remember Matt from the DIY Perks channel? His DIY projects are truly extraordinary, and thanks to him we have learned to build invisible computers, 4K projectors, and portable systems using damaged smartphones. In his latest video, he takes almost half an hour to explain the construction of his artificial sun, which starts with a parabolic mirror to make the light rays parallel, based on a satellite dish he recycled and modified with chromed or mirrored vinyl tape. The light source is an LED with a high color rendering index (between 90 and 98), and a color temperature of 5600K. The unit is 500 watts, which requires liquid cooling.
https://old.neoteo.com/como-dar-una-segunda-vida-a-tu-viejo-pc-portatil/Recreating the Blue Sky Effect
The next piece of the puzzle is to reproduce the "blue sky effect", and for that, it must imitate both the Tyndall effect and the so-called Rayleigh scattering. How did he do it? Basically, he created a lens prototype based on soapy water. This could cause problems in the future (say, soap accumulation at the bottom or the lack of a biocide), but it works very well at this point in the project.
And as expected, the final result is wonderful. No, the design is not practical (let's be honest, there's a satellite dish inside the house) and neither is it economical (500W LED lights cost a fortune), but Matt dedicates the last part of the video to exploring simpler alternatives, such as Fresnel lenses, sky-blue vinyl, and an LED light of only 10W.
