The Ambio lighting concept is a new kind of “artificial” light source which is powered by a truly ancient process, bioluminescence. Filled with Photobacterium species of light-producing bacteria, the Ambio is not powered by electricity but instead powered by biology and a little bit of wave action.
You see, the bacteria that impart their glow onto the Ambio lamp will only glow when they are agitated, in nature this would be provided by a cue from their cephalopod host. But in the Ambio lamp you basically “turn on” the lighting action by getting the lighting unit to sway back and forth, hence the use of a counterweighted pendulum to help the Ambio rhythmically rock back and forth.
The effect of seeing the Ambio’s bioluminescent-bacteria-filled glass working tube looks so serene and hypnotic you could be forgiven to think that this concept light was a miniature ocean unto itself. But don’t throw away your LED lights just yet, as we suppose there’s not a very long lifespan for the bacterial colony living in the Ambio light’s tube.
Furthermore the glow given off by the Ambio biological lamp is hardly enough to read by. Finally, the Ambio lamp pictured here is a one of a kind concept which is part art, part science, not intended to become a commercial product but it is also very, very cool. [Ambio]
