Silica Aerogel .1-1mm granules as LED diffuser material

[127.0.0.1]

Thrunite TN-11

Note: these two pix are with the light off.
The apparent brightness of the aerogel is due to normal ceiling lighting bouncing around inside there.

kills the throw, turns to 100% flood with about the reach of a peak vesuvius

 

[127.0.0.1]

pix
Thrunite held horizontally 1deg elevation camera 1 inch above and 2 inches behind Bezel

Thrunite TN11, 3xcr123, high mode, no diffuser

Thrunite TN11, 3xcr123, high mode, aerogel
is this a flood or what ?

Thrunite TN11, 3xcr123, high mode, no diffuser

Thrunite TN11, 3xcr123, high mode, aerogel

 

[mrlysle]

Dang dude! That stuff really does do an awesome job! Me personally though? I really like the DC fix diffusion film from Phaserburn. I too, would be concerned about holding heat, no matter how trivial it seemed. Especially when it's touted as being such a good insulator. On any light that was under driven, it probably wouldn't be a problem. But with any light that got pretty warm after just a minute or two on high, I wouldn't want to pack insulation all around the emitter. I'm sure that stuff is fun to play with though! It does do a super job at diffusion! Thanks for the pics!

 

[127.0.0.1]

HA !


I discovered something else which is actually too good to be true !

I bought a cheap chinese bike light for

a) to test
b) sick of paying high dollars for Niterider (now I am on CPF and know better)
c) don't need fancy modes, just bright and a low.
d) 18650 x 3 driven, so i can replace the cells with protected ones once these lose life after some years
e) 800 lumens is enough. I go really fast in the woods (yes I race) and know that I don't need more
than 800 lumens, personally.


so I got a Shadow BL21 single XML, 800 lumen, to replace my Niterider trinewt.
The BL21 is balanced (doesn't droop on hard hits and drops) and the whole assembly (light and battery) weighs 1/3rd the
trinewt + battery

Problem. The BL21 is too narrow, needs more flood for the slow sketchy sections.

So, I stuffed in aerogel all the way up, and it flooded, but lost it's reach. So I had an idea...only put in enough aerogel
grains to fill 1/2 the reflector. Bada-BING ! I now have up front flood and the beam still reaches as deep in the woods as with no aerogel at all.

The Perfect Diffuser has been found ! Fill your reflector 1/2 full of loose aerogel grains and
let them roll around. The beam will be floody and with deep reach all in one ! and you do not
see anything like artifacts in the beam. the aerogel diffuses light so perfectly it just
makes the whole beam smooth regardless of how many bumps it takes, it doesn't matter !and yes you
now have a light with what looks like Ghost boogers rolling around in the reflector. [haters may hate!]

somewhat like an 'active diffuser system' !


All my existing and future bike lights will get the 1/2 aerogel treatment ! and I will also dump some
into my Thrunite TN11 so I can get all the reach and now some upfront flood. NO compromise !!!!


I do wonder if: will the aerogel scour the reflector over time ? well, I am gonna find out and post
my results in a few months once my rides start requiring lights...so far I can get back home at dark-thirty
every night, and do not yet need a light, or I use my backup zebralight H600w I carry in my camelbak


(damn my fingertips are dried out from playing with the aerogel that spilled on the countertop)

 

[kts]

Doesnt that stick to the reflector/LED?
Knowing how fragile the coating of a reflector is, it must have been damaged/scratched by that stuff.

 

[127.0.0.1]

Doesnt that stick to the reflector/LED?
Knowing how fragile the coating of a reflector is, it must have been damaged/scratched by that stuff.

nope
doesn't stick or clump [if you don't get it wet for some reason while you
are in there, just don't do it in the shower or outdoors in the rain]

and if the light is watertight...one or two grains may climb the reflector but it is temporary
and doesn't affect anything anyway....

 

[fyrstormer]

Why not just cover half the lense with diffuser film?

 

[moozooh]

What about using an orange peel reflector? Should lose less light compared to aerogel, and the effect would be unaffected by gravity.

 

[127.0.0.1]

Why not just cover half the lense with diffuser film?

I have 13 bikes, and each one... the light may be mounted a bit differently and rotated left or right a bit,
depending on the angle of the bars or attachment point...anything that cannot rotate with gravity might
make an asymmetric pattern if diffuser film is used as a 1/2 diffuser flood+throw.
fluid aerogel bits will tend to stay on the bottom no matter which position the light is mounted.

it's totally hands-free, mount-it-and-go, always-aimed-correctly, solution

even trumps the Petzl NAO...if walking, I can aim light down for full flood, and aim it horizontal and have half flood half throw !


I suppose if I did not have aerogel sitting around in a big fat jug, I would never have tried
it...but I do, and I did...and it basically rocks ! little foamy glass rocks to be specific

 

[fyrstormer]

My preferred solution in that case would be to very carefully align the light holders on all my bikes, and try to come up with a way to snap the light into the holder in such a way that it doesn't affect the alignment of the holder at all. You do get geek points for using Aerogel, though.

 

[Helmut.G]

Aerogel is supposed to be extremely light-weight if I remember correctly. It will be interesting to see if it damages the reflector over time.

 

[127.0.0.1]

Aerogel is supposed to be extremely light-weight if I remember correctly. It will be interesting to see if it damages the reflector over time.

it is insanely lightweight, weighs almost nothing. but it is silica glass and on the hardness scale it is harder
than the aluminum reflector. but yeah it will be interesting once I ride with this a few hundred miles
of bumps will it do anything to the reflector ? scour, scratch, buff ? or do nothing.

 

[Hondo]

You should leave a fingerprint on one (in the name of science), maybe it will clean the reflector!

Oh yeah, and we need this in the new Nightcore SENS lights. Active dimming technology coupled with active diffusion technology!

 

[127.0.0.1]

My preferred solution in that case would be to very carefully align the light holders on all my bikes, and try to come up with a way to snap the light into the holder in such a way that it doesn't affect the alignment of the holder at all. You do get geek points for using Aerogel, though.

oh man each day when I get out of work, I scramble to:

drive home, fill camelbak, pick a bike, mount GPS, air up tires, get in bike clothes,
take a dump, mix gatorade, adjust shoes, check temp and carry what I need clothes-wise,
apply bug spray if going into woods, and get the hell out riding as fast as possible.
other days I add minor trail maintenance like: which pruners ? Felco or my others...Silky BigBoy saw
or a small corona...it is a small project to actually get home and ride. when I do ride I am in
100% ride mode though, it is all worth it. with food and water I could do a 24 hour race every
single time I roll out because I completely switch to bike rider mode. takes 30 minutes as it is

I don't want anything more to monkey with if I can help it. I use a trinewt strap to just slap the light
onto whatever exposed piece of bar i have that doesn't interfere with riding. Aligning bike light mounts
is a pain in itself...the mount has to be in the right spot, battery strapped in somewhere, cable tucked away
somehow.....the less I have to screw with the more riding I can squeeze in before I get home and have
to shower, eat, calm down (hard to really sleep with the adrenaline from a 2-3 hour hammer fest in the blood)

the only thing I need to adjust is: rotation of strap by grabbing it and yanking it, and rotation of light
which is held on by an allen bolt and rubber gasket, it can twist left and right a bit before it actually loosens.

on some bikes I have odd angles and the light is mounted at a 45 degree sideways slope on some, and 90-135 on others,
and upside down on one bar on my road bikes...

 

[Nofear4xjs]

HA !


I discovered something else which is actually too good to be true !

I bought a cheap chinese bike light for

a) to test
b) sick of paying high dollars for Niterider (now I am on CPF and know better)
c) don't need fancy modes, just bright and a low.
d) 18650 x 3 driven, so i can replace the cells with protected ones once these lose life after some years
e) 800 lumens is enough. I go really fast in the woods (yes I race) and know that I don't need more
than 800 lumens, personally.


so I got a Shadow BL21 single XML, 800 lumen, to replace my Niterider trinewt.
The BL21 is balanced (doesn't droop on hard hits and drops) and the whole assembly (light and battery) weighs 1/3rd the
trinewt + battery

Problem. The BL21 is too narrow, needs more flood for the slow sketchy sections.

So, I stuffed in aerogel all the way up, and it flooded, but lost it's reach. So I had an idea...only put in enough aerogel
grains to fill 1/2 the reflector. Bada-BING ! I now have up front flood and the beam still reaches as deep in the woods as with no aerogel at all.

The Perfect Diffuser has been found ! Fill your reflector 1/2 full of loose aerogel grains and
let them roll around. The beam will be floody and with deep reach all in one ! and you do not
see anything like artifacts in the beam. the aerogel diffuses light so perfectly it just
makes the whole beam smooth regardless of how many bumps it takes, it doesn't matter !and yes you
now have a light with what looks like Ghost boogers rolling around in the reflector. [haters may hate!]

somewhat like an 'active diffuser system' !


All my existing and future bike lights will get the 1/2 aerogel treatment ! and I will also dump some
into my Thrunite TN11 so I can get all the reach and now some upfront flood. NO compromise !!!!


I do wonder if: will the aerogel scour the reflector over time ? well, I am gonna find out and post
my results in a few months once my rides start requiring lights...so far I can get back home at dark-thirty
every night, and do not yet need a light, or I use my backup zebralight H600w I carry in my camelbak


(damn my fingertips are dried out from playing with the aerogel that spilled on the countertop)

Hey, I just ordered the same lights for my bike a few days ago and wondering if you have fully tested the arogel to see if it`s going to cause a heat problem or damage the inners. Could you also briefly explain if you have the time why you think a defuser film would not be as good for a straight up flood or even 1/2 & 1/2.

Thank you for your time and help, I don`t like getting jacked for my hard earned pay ether good to see others have found that most times you will have to mickey mouse the things you buy anyway to make them work the way you need or the way the company gives the impression it will.

My latest mickey mouse job was on a Go pro camera chest mount made from the head strap & with a few tweaks I think it`s better the the stock version. Win

 

[127.0.0.1]

the report is in

aerogel does zero harm to the reflector under long term extreme shaking (mountain biking on bony trails)
I have 45 hours of trail use on it and zero damage to the bl-21 whatsoever.

does no harm to the emitter

sure diffuser film should work fine, I just happen to have aerogel around, it doesn't stick
or need adhesive, it is 100% impervious to heat, won't degrade over time, has optical qualities
you can't get with diffuser film (it diffuses the light but there is almost zero loss. an unlit light with aerogel in it
actually looks lit up because the aerogel captures and diffuses ambient light into the head,
making it appear backlit)

aerogel diffuses in a way diffusion film cannot, and the results in real world use are excellent:
Rayleigh scattering, is the elastic scattering of light or other electromagnetic radiation by particles (the aerogel sphericals) much smaller than the wavelength of the light. The particles may be individual atoms or molecules. It can occur when light travels through transparent solids and liquids, but is most prominently seen in gases. Rayleigh scattering is a function of the electric polarizability of the particles.

loose aerogel grains always sit at the bottom, where i need to have the light diffused. my light
can be mounted anywhere from 30deg +- level depending on what bike I use, and even upside down.
the aerogel will always be where I want it.


I imagine a 1/2 strip of scotch tape would work too, but that is messy and heat will kill it.
you cannot roast silica aerogel from any led light, it can take +1000 degrees with no damage

 

[Nofear4xjs]

Thanks for the detailed reply

Can you tell me how you opened up the BL-21 to add the Aerogel granuales?

 

[127.0.0.1]

unscrew the lens bezel like any ordinary light, pop off the glass, dump in the aerogel. clean up
the o-ring and glass edge from loose aerogel nuggets and close it back up

 

[Nofear4xjs]

Thanks I tried earlier but did`nt want to force it due to waterproofing issues. used a peice of rubber from an old bike tube to grip it and bingo screwed right out, just a rubber o ring for water proofing around the lens.