Future of Engineering

Nightlights, including ones that illuminate when you clap, could be a thing of the past now that two inventors have come up with a new rug that lights up when you step on it. The electroluminescent carpet could keep you from stubbing your toe during a nocturnal walk to the bathroom, guide you to the bedroom after a late-night out and even replace a child's conventional nightlight. The electroluminescent rug uses rechargeable batteries and lights up in response to the weight applied when a person walks across the carpet. Electroluminescence relies on an electric field to generate visible light. Other light producers include photoluminescence, which is used in many glow-in-the-dark toys; and chemoluminescence, which involves light-producing chemical reactions (as in the body of a firefly). So-called responsive surfaces such as Footlume are considered by some experts the next big thing in interiors for fashion-savvy and techie homeowners.

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Keywords: Nightlights, electroluminescent carpet, nocturnal, photoluminescence, chemoluminescence, Footlume, fashion-savvy, techie

Labels: Chemical-Engineering, Electrical-Engineering, Sciences