Great! I`ll take 2.

But it uses power to light up, wasting more than a normal cable.

(I'll take 4)

Isn't this post more of a PLUG?

I will daisy chain them around my house and plug my fridge in at the end.

I wish these guys made power supplies & ribbon cables, would love to have a glowy mess in my case.

I'll take 5

I like it. It's pretty cool looking.

I'll take pi.

\\is this some Fark cliche I'm unaware of?

What's really cool is there power aware vibrators.

Flag on play! Missed visual gag. 5 yard penalty, first down!

This article is on TechEBlog via SciFi, from Foster Gadgets, who got that from Gizmodo, who apparently got it from the source.

Yay internets!

If you daisy chain them it would look really cool as each would be brighter than the last since more power is being drawn the farther down the line you are.

I'll take seventy kerjillion.

There.

/plus infinity

And this is progress how? Existing cords already glow if you use a lot of power. Granted, there is usually some fire damage involved.

Wow. That thing should light up the dust bunnies under my desk reeeal nice.

Whatta useless application of technology. The tendency of today's business to cater to the mentally challenged with this base attempt to manipulate our...

oooooooh.... shiny...

Bad, bad submitter.

You're the one that confused my girlfriend about her blowdryer, aren't you?

If you daisy chain them it would look really cool as each would be brighter than the last since more power is being drawn the farther down the line you are.

I don't tink so!

Yunus: If you daisy chain them it would look really cool as each would be brighter than the last since more power is being drawn the farther down the line you are.

Um, no. If you daisy chain them and plug one device in at the end of the chain, the current flowing through each cable will neccesarily be equal. Assuming all the cords have the same resistance, each one will consume the same amount of power.

If you daisy chain them it would look really cool as each would be brighter than the last since more power is being drawn the farther down the line you are.
The trick would be getting enough of them together that the lights caused a measaurable load increase, and then adding a small load at the end to act as a catalyst. Then, watch the fireworks until your breaker melts.

TheSignPost: then the turrists have already won.


Vactioners with cameras?

It looks pretty sweet. It would be useful for those who are trying to cut power consumption by locating where "power leaks" are occurring.

/I'll take ALF FTW

Wait a minute, since it glows brighter the more power consumed and it consumes more power the brighter it glows, won't this loop until something burns? (I know, I know, the light source isn't a black body and will saturate it's output, but still)

I yawned to hard I think I injured myself.

/Breaks out the candy necklaces and techno mp3s
//I'll take a case of those, please

Hubbard Boy: If it uses inductance no. Sure it will drain some power (blue leds use an amazingly small amount of power), but ultimately its the device on the end of the line that is attached to ground that will get to decide how much power is used.

PianoJosh: Um, no. If you daisy chain them and plug one device in at the end of the chain, the current flowing through each cable will neccesarily be equal. Assuming all the cords have the same resistance, each one will consume the same amount of power.

Shhh... Don't confuse people about their magical "go" juice.

Great idea, not unlike the $50 monster USB cable with flashing blue light.

New fangled gadgets! I'm the old fashioned type. I send my nephew outside to watch the little wheel in that glass thingy spin faster and faster.

And it keeps him the hell away from my computer!

electric bill = electricity used

PianoJosh: Um, no. If you daisy chain them and plug one device in at the end of the chain, the current flowing through each cable will neccesarily be equal. Assuming all the cords have the same resistance, each one will consume the same amount of power.

No the current will not be the same in this case since each cord draws a little bit of current to power its light.

I_in = I_out + I_cord_blue_light_thingy

In all likelihood though, the current draw of the cord light would be dwarfed by an practical load on the end.

/Yea Kirchoff!

Do they have a cordless version?

"since it glows brighter the more power consumed and it consumes more power the brighter it glows, won't this loop until something burns?"

Yes. In the same way that if you keep re zipping a zip file, it will eventually be one byte in size.

Who hasn't as a kid ( or adult ) turned on every appliance in the house and run outside to see how fast the meter was spinning?

I'm betting this thing operates off of induction.

While I'm sure this is the "neat" way to do it, I ran across this product a little while back:

kill-a-watt

I've heard it works fairly well. It definitely seems to be a good solution to see how much juice your machine is pulling. I imagine this would be fairly useful to see where your big energy costs come from, and try to alleviate the situation. I don't work for thinkgeek(they are awfully overpriced) or the company that makes this thing, I just find it to be a more "practical" solution.

No the current will not be the same in this case since each cord draws a little bit of current to power its light.

I_in = I_out + I_cord_blue_light_thingy

But the overall current is the same for all elements in a circuit. Kirchoffs rule is Sum I=0 (or Io=I1+I2+I3+...In). I think that what you're thinking is that the voltage drops over each element since V=IR and Kirchoffs Loop Rule is sum V=0 or E-I(R1)-I(R2)-I(R3)=0.

Thank you Tainted1, for defending great Kirchoff's memory from these savages.

I'll take half.

Page's pic is pooched. Perhaps one of the paragon posters perchance could post a proper one?

/Alliteration rules.
//as do slashies.

I have a couple of the kill-a-watt things; they are great for telling me which beer fridge is sucking down the electricty and ready for the curb.

Current collection is something like this:
Chest freezer at 65F: $2/month
Full size over/under fridge: $8/mo
Dorm fridge: $12/mo
Side-by-side: $22/mo

The side by side got kicked to the curb, haven't tested the replacement yet. Anyone want a dorm fridge cheap? I need to space for another chest freezer!

mmmmm power chords.

/louder
//faster
///more distortion
}}}}distorted slashies

Yunus: If you daisy chain them it would look really cool as each would be brighter than the last since more power is being drawn the farther down the line you are.

That makes no sense...

Tainted1: But the overall current is the same for all elements in a circuit. Kirchoffs rule is Sum I=0 (or Io=I1+I2+I3+...In). I think that what you're thinking is that the voltage drops over each element since V=IR and Kirchoffs Loop Rule is sum V=0 or E-I(R1)-I(R2)-I(R3)=0.

That would be the case if the light was in series with the line (either directly or by current transformer). I was assuming that wasn't the case though and that the light was parallel across the hot and neutral lines and electronically sensed current flow and controlled light intensity accordingly. I made that assumption because I thought that a series current shunt that would drop the 4V or so needed for a blue LED might have issues serious issues with power dissipation (FU UL) when you're pulling 15 Amps through the line and a current transformer might have been too bulky to fit in the cord.

yeah your all right i was thinking light bulbs in a series circuit not parrallel.

Whats really sad is I know this stuff. I spent 6 years in the Air Force working on generators, 3 phase 120/240V at 400hz.
My bad.

OMFG. That is a blog link to a blog link to a blog link to a blog link to a blog link. LINK TO THE FARKING ORIGINAL ARTICLE!

here come the electrical engineers...

Have a Kill-a-watt and it's definitely the way to go.

I'll take √-1.