Innovation of the week
Goodbye, street lamps?
Goodbye, street lamps? U.K.-based Pro-Teq Surfacing has patented a remarkable new glowing liquid called Starpath that can be sprayed onto asphalt, concrete, and other hard surfaces. After 30 minutes, it leaves a “shiny, shimmery pathway that can guide cyclists and pedestrians at night with zero power consumption,” said Pranav Dixit in FastCompany.com. The secret to Starpath’s illuminating ability is tiny light-absorbing particles that harvest ambient light during the daytime. Once darkness falls, that luminosity becomes visible. Starpath’s brightness appears to dim down or ramp up depending on the amount of natural light outside. “It adjusts accordingly...almost like it has a mind of its own,” said Pro-Teq Surfacing owner Hamish Scott. Starpath is currently being given a trial run on a path through a park in Cambridge, England.
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