The art of invention: how to fail
So I had this big idea. It started as a little grub idea a long long time ago that I never really gave much thought to, mired as I was at the time with work and school and other things. With those things not currently impeding me, the idea wandered back into my head, and I started actually fleshing it out.
In my head, I saw a fiber-optic based solar/LED hybrid lighting system. It would allow the owner to pump sunlight throughout their house as easy as water during the day, and let you switch to minimal power cost/low heat generating LED illumination when dark. Through several books I purchased and the magic of the internet, I have been studying the properties of light emitting diodes, fiber optic cable, AC current regulators, switch cables, and a variety of transparent/reflective materials.
I came up with what I thought would be a working design for a solar collector you could attach to the roof of your house. Through application of timers and optical sensors, I began speculation on making an articulated collector that would follow the path of the sun to optimize input and know when to change from outside to artificial light.
With ever growing excitement I began establishing how much surface area collector would be required to actually illuminate an indoor area from a single-point light-source. My calculations were rough at best, but it was enough to tell me that the idea would work. A collector of workable size absolutely could be made to light a whole damn building.
I was about to go online and begin purchasing a lot of materials to actually make a test model when I found that there are three companies that have actually done this already. One of their designs looks exactly like mine, and they work great.
I don't know how to feel about this. It was my big flash of inspiration that was going to change things, and somebody else had it first. On the other hand, my idea was apparently good, because it works in practice. Currently I think it's actually more upsetting that the idea was good. Oh well.
In my head, I saw a fiber-optic based solar/LED hybrid lighting system. It would allow the owner to pump sunlight throughout their house as easy as water during the day, and let you switch to minimal power cost/low heat generating LED illumination when dark. Through several books I purchased and the magic of the internet, I have been studying the properties of light emitting diodes, fiber optic cable, AC current regulators, switch cables, and a variety of transparent/reflective materials.
I came up with what I thought would be a working design for a solar collector you could attach to the roof of your house. Through application of timers and optical sensors, I began speculation on making an articulated collector that would follow the path of the sun to optimize input and know when to change from outside to artificial light.
With ever growing excitement I began establishing how much surface area collector would be required to actually illuminate an indoor area from a single-point light-source. My calculations were rough at best, but it was enough to tell me that the idea would work. A collector of workable size absolutely could be made to light a whole damn building.
I was about to go online and begin purchasing a lot of materials to actually make a test model when I found that there are three companies that have actually done this already. One of their designs looks exactly like mine, and they work great.
I don't know how to feel about this. It was my big flash of inspiration that was going to change things, and somebody else had it first. On the other hand, my idea was apparently good, because it works in practice. Currently I think it's actually more upsetting that the idea was good. Oh well.