Bending Light!

[gafftaper]

I found this interesting article about some recent physics experiments. They are finding ways to have light bend itself! Very cool stuff. Just wait until VL and Martin add "Bend mode" to their new fixtures.


P.S. Yeah I know this is really an off topic sort of thing, but I thought any story with the words "Light normally travels in straight lines, but..." has some physics in it that made it worthy of a general post.

[cpf]

No need to wait till this technology gets developed, you can bend light right now! Just need to remember where I put that tank of high-refractive-index air...

[JonCarter]

Light beams that bend where we tell them to and on cue would be nice, but what I really want to see is one that stops before it hits what I don't want it to.

[zmb]

I'm still waiting for the light vaccum. Sucks up light where you don't want it and feeds it back into the electrical supply. Perfect for a whole stage wash except one small portion.

[chausman]

Perfect for a whole stage wash except one small portion.

But that's my favorite part!

[porkchop]

Hopefully being at newscientist.com will scare away all the directors. Otherwise they'll be asking why we don't have lights that can do this.... oh wait they already have been for decades.

[zmb]

I had a director that complained the other day that the lights weren't turning off fast enough...
Time to explain that the lamp has to cool off to stop glowing and just because I'm using a zero count cue that can't be instant.

[DuckJordan]

Easiest way to fix that, use less lights, and trigger them early.

[zmb]

Easiest way to fix that, use less lights, and trigger them early.

I wanted to use less light, but then he complains it's not bright enough

[chausman]

I wanted to use less light, but then he complains it's not bright enough

Cheap, Quick, Bright. Pick 2.

[65535]

Xenon arc lamps douse pretty quickly.

[josh88]

I had a director that complained the other day that the lights weren't turning off fast enough...
Time to explain that the lamp has to cool off to stop glowing and just because I'm using a zero count cue that can't be instant.

Tell him you'll need extra techs and if those lights aren't reachable from a catwalk you'll have to tie them to the battens (one for each light used) with something to manually douse all those lights... and you'll have to yell a cue to them so they all do it at the same time, that should make it instant... unless you have the people who don't move fast enough, then it might be spotty