Yeah, lava lamps were cool a few decades ago, but there has to be a way to update that kind of aesthetic to celebrate our growing knowledge of DNA sequencing, right? Sure there is, and LucidMovement figured it out. Presumably after struggling to find something similar that didn’t exist, LucidMovement created his DIY, Grown Crystal Double Helix Lamp by submerging a double helix wire formation in a warm alum solution for a while, removing the crystal-covered wires, placing them in a glass tube, and filling in the gaps with clear sillicone. Simple, right?
As if that wasn’t enough for you, he also took the tube and mounted it on a motorized platform complete with LED lighting from the underside. Granted, the thing looks pretty awesome as is, but when it starts spinning and changing colors, you’ve got a real mesmerizing conversation piece on your hands, or your mantle, more likely. If you want to try your hand at making your own, you can check out the Instructables page. Or, you could try to come up with, say, a decoration that takes the aesthetic of a 1930s radio and yet still celebrates our growing knowledge of quantum physics. Yeah, that sounds cool. Get to work.
(via Hack a Day)
