Times Square Ball uses LEDs!

[LEDAdd1ct]

According to this AP article, the new Times Square ball "is a geodesic dome built of 2,468 Waterford crystal triangles, each etched with a stylized starburst or a stylized angel," and "Each triangle has 12 energy-efficient, long-lived LED lights behind it; three each of red, white, blue and green, which can be combined into 16 million colors." Neat!

Full Article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081111/ap_on_re_us/new_year_s_ball

 

[K A]

Strange. For some reason I thought they had done that last year. Oh well. still very cool.

6 TONS though... Good lord..

 

[greenLED]

Strange. For some reason I thought they had done that last year.

I thought so too. :shrug:

 

[Jay R]

Like here you mean.

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=184715

 

[TigerhawkT3]

Strange... they use LEDs that'll last thousands of hours, but they build a new one every year. :thinking:

 

[RGB_LED]

Strange. For some reason I thought they had done that last year. Oh well. still very cool.

6 TONS though... Good lord..

True, just saw them talking about it on Discovery Channel and they were LED's last year. This year, they made the ball twice as large, added Rebels and it's also claimed to be 10-20% more efficient than last year. They plan on keeping the ball lit throughout the year; red heart for Valentine's, green for St. Patrick's day, etc. A bit tacky but still cool.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Times_Square_Ball
"2009 The new Times Square New Years Eve Ball has now doubled in size and is 20% more energy efficient than the previous one. It Weighs nearly 6 tons and is now 12 ft in diameter. The flag pole on the top of One Times Square that the ball is hoisted atop has been rebuilt and now enlarged to accommodate the ball. When raised it will now be 475 ft above Times Square. And for the first time in its 101 year history, after New Years Eve, it will remain up all year round."

http://www.timessquarenyc.org/nye/nye_ball.html
"The new Times Square New Year's Eve Ball is a 12 foot geodesic sphere, double the size of previous Balls, and weighs 11,875 pounds. Covered in 2,668 Waterford Crystals and powered by 32,256 Philips Luxeon Rebel LEDS :twothumbs, the new Ball is capable of creating a palette of more than 16 million vibrant colors and billions of patterns producing a spectacular kaleidoscope effect atop One Times Square."