Lantern

Assignment: Create an LED lantern using a resistor, LED light, and 9V battery.

Provided items:

9V battery

3.5V LED light

270Ω resistor

Other items used:

-Styrofoam cup

-plastic cup

-switch

-aluminum foil

-duct tape

-scotch tape

-pen

-hot glue

-white foam

-white, red, and black paper for decorating 

Although I had thought about various purposes (headlamp, flashlight) I ultimately decided to base my design off my summer experience in Maine and create a lighthouse-shaped lantern:

Figuring out which resistor to use was difficult, and I think I may have chosen the less-than-optimal strength. It works, though, and my LED lights up, so if my math is wrong my actions are right.

9V battery - 3.5V LED = 5.5V

5.5V/20mA = .275kΩ = me choosing a 270Ω resistor.

Although using wires found in the classroom may be a reason for docking points, I decided that my circuitry knowledge wasn't good enough to experiment with anything else. My circuit diagram began as this:

and ended as this:

After poking around the classroom I found the drawer filled with switches, and this classic light switch caught my attention.

I cut the rim off a plastic cup and lined it with aluminum foil in the hopes that shiny materials = reflection. I cut a hole through the bottom of the cup and stuck the LED through the hole. As it turns out, when the resistor wires touch aluminum foil the light turns off, so I wrapped a tiny piece of duct tape around the wires to prevent any shortages.

Because I really threw myself into the theme, I decided to make a turning mechanism for the top of the lantern, giving my lantern the movement akin to a lighthouse. I cut a circular piece of foam small enough to fit on the top (bottom) of the Styrofoam cup base, then stuck a pen through the top (bottom) of the Styrofoam cup and into the circular piece of foam. I hot glued the pen to the foam, making a hand-turning mechanism on which to glue the aluminum-covered cup containing the LED light.

I didn't want the wires hanging outside the cup, so I cut a hole in the back of the cup and stuffed the battery and wires in the base. I then fitted my switch snugly into the hole:

Here's the view from the inside:

You can see the battery is duct-taped on the side. You can also see the pen that I use to turn the top of my lighthouse. As the lighthouses of old, mine is manually operated.

I added a few classic stripes for decoration, a peep-view window, and my lighthouse can effectively guide little ant boats across a tiny puddle of water:

On a bid for creativity points, I added a background diorama to complete the effect:

The only detail I would change about the design is the placement of the LED. I originally wanted to minimize the amount of wire outside the cup, so I placed the light low. If I were to recreate the top bit, I would place the light in the middle to hopefully create a more clear ray of light.

I am looking forward to moving away from circuitry. As much as I tried to understand the subject, and as much as I Googled "beginning circuitry volts watts ohms" I simply don't get it. I'm confident in my lantern, though, and I believe it's a good tool for creating a small sphere of light in darkness.

P.S. Many thanks to Anjali Kayal for her help and love!