h a l f b a k e r yLike gliding backwards through porridge.
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Marbles fitted with a long-life battery and a small LED light in the core. A light sensor activates it when the lights are turned down....a really innexpensive gimmick with the kids
Glow-in-the-dark ones already do exist, but thats a tired concept.
The same concept could also be used to make an
adult version - simmilar to the already available popular marble-esque type feng-shui pebble stones....
LEDs in superballs - they're everywhere...
http://www.bunnygra...com/newproducts.htm
link for [jutta]'s anno [ConsulFlaminicus, Nov 26 2004]
How marbles are made
http://www.landofma...m/marbles-make.html
[calum, Nov 26 2004]
[link]
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I'd want to play marbles....for the first time forty years or so.....[+] |
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You played marbles in your 20s?! |
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One small change I'd make: turn them on when they're shaken, not when it's dark. (Otherwise, they'll spend most of their life glowing to themselves inside a package or bag.) Something like that already exists in bouncing rubber balls with embedded LEDs. |
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This is cool - no idea why it isn't sold yet. |
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Yes, impact sensors could indicate which marbles had been hit while playing. |
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To add to the fun, there are some new technologies a-comin' down the pike that scavenge vibration and general kinetic energy to generate tiny amounts of electrical power when an item is moved, hit or jiggled. So there's no need for a battery at all - the light goes on as the marble is used, and when it's quiescent, it stays quiescent. How Newtonian! |
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An excellent concept and a more fodder for playground oneupmanship. However, marbles are made by melting glass down and rolling it (see link) so
how do we get the LED inside? |
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Mold 'em, mold 'em / Shake 'em and hold 'em / Put 'em in the dark and then / Watch 'em glow golden |
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Molten glass is very hot. My guess is that even considering the small amount of glass required, there would be enough heat present to damage the LED and battery. This would result in a high failure rate, driving the cost up and making them playthings only for the very rich. Inevitably, a dual-tier toy system would arise, resulting in class-division, economic upheaval, probably famine. |
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