EL Wire Made at Home - The Currency of Burning Man

[EndlessPsycodelia]

I would like to learn quantum physics from you, u make it fun.

[GunandaSandwich]

Greetings from Burning man =) enjoy learning more about electronics through your videos. =)

[thewizardofrhythm]

Looks like Amanda Fox.

[metalkidjohn]

Spray on plasti-dip works wonders when coating the wire. Just don't put more than one coat on it or it will become hazy.

[clarionzoo]

Attractive and knowledgeable about something other than Facebook. Dinner and a show?

[AccessNo]

Well, apparently this is the first girl in human history that likes and probably know s a few things about electronics :))))))) OMG indeed

I'm in love :))) oh, i almost forgot...she's pretty too LOL

[VeryTucker]

@AccessNo 2nd, ladyada was the first

[bradmann85]

im fasinated by anything that glows or lights. flashlights, lasers, plasma (electric static or lightning), and this a neon wire is what i call them. even living things that are able to produce theyre own glow. nice work. dont see very many girls have this same interest

[radioburger3]

Why would she fake making EL wire? Some of you guys make no sense, just leave the pretty lady alone and let her share her knowledge of exciting things like el wire with the world!

[colorme3vil]

is it me or does she look like the chick from buffy and where the hell am i finding a TRANSFORMER WTF

[vincentstockdale]

i thought ur noze was peirced

[greekman3000]

is it me or does it look like the wire is an edit -__-

look at her finger around 2:48 -__-

[jeriellsworth]

@greekman3000 It's the real deal. I don't fake my demos.

[greekman3000]

@jeriellsworth sorry saw your other videos... your pretty awesome.. i spoke early. I'm studying robotics/electronics engineering in college... love your enthusiasm... wish my peers had the same in class -__-

[zarphus]

@greekman3000 the wire is sticking straight up in the air. her finger went behind it.

[sparkedsnipe]

@greekman3000 nah man, you can see the light radiate off onto her fingers, its not fake

[grayeaglej]

@greekman3000 teh lil wire ish sticking up, her finger ish BEHIND it, thats why it looks like an added in thing :)

[zac856314]

curse you dead pixle

[Darcin8or]

Would Clear heat shrink be an Ok coating?

[adamtherio999]

Hot and geeky, id take you out anytime <3

[zesrg3]

thumbs up if you can hear a faint oscillating sound as she turns the power supply on @ 2:46...

[szirmay]

i love you cause your the best

[tequilachela]

omg a dead pixel!

[HessenDragoon]

God I love geek girls.

[rabidowski]

Are you single? Wanna move to Toronto? :-D

[Nightspyz1]

yay for smart redheads :)

[BoyOfTheEnders]

Would coating it in something like a clear rubber tubing work? for example something like the clear hoses off a fish tank kit?

[jeriellsworth]

@BoyOfTheEnders That would be great. It doesn't take much.

[EGO310573]

OMG, wish my wife was a bit like you :) Thank you for your videos.

[jeriellsworth]

@EGO310573 I bet you could find some nerdy project she'd enjoy.

[lucadepu]

@jeriellsworth INNUENDOS

[panzuman]

to make conductive plastic why not get graphite powder and any type of liquid plastic such as liquid electrical tape or styrofoam with acetone

[jeriellsworth]

@panzuman Sounds like it's worth a try.

[98756543]

@jeriellsworth , can it be coated with glue gun?

[jeriellsworth]

@98756543 Glue or silicone would work fine. My demo was just a quick hack to demonstrate the principles.

[98756543]

@jeriellsworth, can it be coated with glue gun?

[98756543]

@jeriellsworth can it be coated with glue gun?

[twmbatracer]

good tutorial. u really know what you are talking about.

also, owing to that dead pixel on the camera, i think you should get a small nose piercing because when the pixel was in the right spot on ur nose it looked pretty good :)

[mitchellberry]

:) i love cute nerds... will you marry me?

[hontar]

Inspiring stuff as always Jerie. Any thoughts on making el tape?

[jeriellsworth]

@hontar EL tape is similar to the EL stackup video I made. I don't have a good way to make the conductive plastic, but I' working on it.

[hontar]

@jeriellsworth Thanks Jerie, my tron suit beckons :)

[hontar]

@jeriellsworth Thanks Jerie, I look forward to it. Meanwhile my tron suit beckons :)

[sanches2]

@jeriellsworth hi i have ordered transparent conductive silkprint ink for touchscreen displays from BASF chemicals and i guess it could do the job for transparent EL tape electrode. i've ordered a sample jar which is like 250ml. if u're interested let me know i'll dig into my old mailbox to see the contact info and material number of the guys that i got it from

[sdchargers4life1]

She looks weird and freaky like that girl in American pie.

[jeriellsworth]

@sdchargers4life1 "One time. At band camp."

[alaskanalain]

Forget dead pixel, Just tell everyone you have a EL beauty spot that keeps moving around on your face.

[deathventure]

the blinking LCD clock in the background is more distracting...

[jeriellsworth]

@deathventure That is the Ice Tube clock from Adafruit Industries.

[deathventure]

@jeriellsworth ahhh, vfd, even better. Still more distracting than the burnt pixel. Always bugged me when I was younger when the vcr blinked like that, I aways set it back up after a power outage.

[horlacsd]

that burnt out pixel is an omen --> get a fine nose ring

[TheGrandMarkE]

Hi - great video. thank you. I'm curious - why is it necessary that one of the wires be stranded? Couldn't one make this using 2 magnet wires? Or does that significantly cut down on the surface area, reducing the capacitance, and therefore reducing the excitation? I wonder how well it would work with 2 magnet wires running in parallel (no twist)? Thanks - Mark

[Mastif666]

I think u are inteligent;P

[unusedsn]

thats cool but I wouldnt almost definitely die trying to do this =]

[KillerXtreme88]

Anyone ever tell you, your sexy when you talk nerdy.. ;)

[floppythudpucker]

or ill go buy some.

[jtgoodwrench]

mmmm sexy and smart

[xWintermutex]

There is a dead pixel on your head.

[lexichronicle2]

toooooooouch iiiiiiiiiiit......

[conundrum2007]

nice video jeri, i am working on making my own phosphors at the moment, seems the procedure is very similar to making glow in the dark materials..

-A

[AMonteverdi]

whats that blue dot in the lens?

[Nashblackcat]

The Small power supply listed in the student kit can be found at AM&S under "Electroluminescent Flasher Fun" I got one before this video came out to play with some el items and ideas...

[Nashblackcat]

@Nashblackcat Iwonder if this could be modem for use with another uC???

[FrankenPC]

She's smart AND sexy...OMG I'm in love.

Great hack as well. I always wondered how EL wire worked.

[AmazGraz]

Yum! Uh (embarrased) I mean, how about clear plastic tubing for encapsulation, or perhaps epoxy. (Uh huh, to date yur my favorite electronics teacher.)

[KickF]

Great project, but omg what a high pitch sound you get when you fire it up :/ ... so it that the 2 wires that you coated in phosphor that "vibrate" or the AC power board ?

[jeriellsworth]

@KickF It's the transformer on the power supply vibrating. You could dampen this with wax or potting materials.

[Murple333]

Another great project from Jeri. Next project for Jeri - fix the blown pixel in her camera ;)

[jacgoudsmit]

Great video! But kids, if you're going to try this at home, don't hook up your project to the wall outlet just because 120V and 60Hz is within the voltage and frequency range that Jeri mentions.

[EgonFreeman]

Kinda makes me want to go back to the nixies. :D This is what has been missing from my high school physics courses.

Maybe You'd want to try making an RGB one? :D Would require some clever separation, and just a little bit extra work?

[gushhnet]

I've no idea why youtube keeps accepting double posts, I think my browser refreshed and sent the headers again... either way I thought youtube fixed this? it's annoying for everyone. Sorry about that.

[rathat48]

Laser damage to the CCD?

[mspacone]

Brilliant! Thank you for showing us this!

[jteich3]

I enjoyed the vid!

Where can we get the phosphors from?

[gcs8]

BLUE DOT

[eddies]

@gcs8 Looks like a GREEN DOT to me

[zac856314]

@gcs8 it is a sniper rifle laser

[mrfuzzles92]

@gcs8

I see DEAD PIXELS!!!

[StripeyType]

It seems to me that this permits all sorts of form factors rather than only wires - an artfully etched PCB could act as one plate of the capacitor, and some transparent conductor - perhaps some electrolyte - could act at the other, allowing for arbitrary EL artwork, rather than the squiggly sorts of drawings that EL wire usually permits. This is *awesome* inspiration. Thanks so much!

[EgonFreeman]

@StripeyType Look into how VFD units work, if You haven't already. Just a thought. :-)

[darkwalter]

What's with the spot in your video?  Did someone have a laser accident?

[thewii552]

YAY!!! homemade EL wire! it vorked!!! good job jeri!

[wbeaty]

Instead of ZnS glow paint, there's also Speedball® Night Glo, a screen-printing ink for fabrics. Last time I bought some it was $10 for 8oz jar: cheaper than glow paint. Most art supply stores here in Seattle sell this, though a couple do not. Then I just need a micro-loom for weaving fabric from #40 magnet wire...

[wbeaty]

Besides ITO glass, someone should test some samples of Scotchtint, Clear-Shield, Glare-Shield, and other flexible plastic window conductive shields sold to those fearing EMF.

[wbeaty]

Yay, thanks much for that source for Dupont samples. Is that really the only source in existence? Y'know, if Dupont website had a service where people had ACTUAL ACCESS TO THE FREAKIN' SAMPLES, maybe engineers would start incorporating this into new products.

[frogz]

@wbeaty

jerri is so awesome that she has bill beaty commenting on her videos!!

[kinglonewolf104]

Very cool stuff :)

.

&eB

[spokehedz]

What is the little blue/white dot from? Dead/stick pixel?

[springbat]

about encapsulating: yu can find cheap *transparent* heat shrink tubes on eBay :)

about voltage & frequencies: as from Elam or CoolNeon site, the highest grants the brightest light. The commercial inverters ranges are 99~130vac and 2.5~6.5KHz. Highest brightness model is 122vac - 6.5KHz.

Thanks a lot for the video!

[gushhnet]

Could you encapsulate it with silicon tubing, or a similar material and actually pot it inside? Is this how the actual commercial EL wires are manufactured? -- Thanks for the video, very informative.

PS: I do wonder, is the phosphor from a fluorescent tube a viable choice for those of us who don't know any university students selling convenient kits?

[jeriellsworth]

@gushhnet I have not tried CFL phosphor yet. Be careful, because CFL's have mercury in them. The brain damage hasn't been too bad by the mercury I held in my hands and have in my teeth. :)

[jeriellsworth]

@gushhnet Encapsulation has been an after thought, but I' sure anything rubber-like will work fine. The voltage is high, but very low current. It bites a little, but won't be terribly dangerous.

[khaldar]

@gushhnet I tried using phosphor from a CFL because I don't have any other way of getting phosphors. I tried both of the relay power supplys shown in the other video (don't have the stuff to make a solid state power supply). Didn't work. I even tried using an ignition coil as a transformer...

[gushhnet]

@khaldar no luck either, I'm guessing these dupont EL chemicals contain more than regular phosphors...

[catman72]

that's great.

remember you had success with regular glow-in-the-dark color?

have you tried it with this system?

what is the difference between the materials?

[jeriellsworth]

@catman72 Glow paint is funny stuff. I can make it light dimly sometimes and if it's glowing it will go dark. It seems to be a factor of the charge they've received from light and the frequency of the power supply.

[catman72]

@jeriellsworth

i hope to find a source for the phosphor that isn't DuPont or any other firm,

perhaps the CFL white powder will be good, maybe mixed with glow-in-the-dark paint.

seems like the stuff used in EL is just more concentrated and pure, or a mix

of a few phosphors that excite each other better than what we have.

[ElectronicsIsFun]

Excellent video. This El wire seem easy to make.

GuruSantiago

ElectronicsISFun

[LunaVorax]

Wow ! Now we're talking ! That's really amazing.

I'll see if I have enough time to do this at home too :))

[Twistx77]

Really cool! thanks! How long can this last if i protect it with rubber cement or something like that?

[jeriellsworth]

@Twistx77 I don't know how long the life will be. I have some from months ago still working.

[BlackJavaBean]

That's pretty awesome. Thanks for posting great videos that show how to make such unique and interesting things! I would have never thought of making my own EL wire. Keep it up!

[mtj1047]

Worlds cutest nerd. That's not easy!

[sk7ca]

@mtj1047 indeed!! :D

[juopotski]

Nice indeed! I wonder how much voltage is required for them to light up...Anyway, hope to see new videos soon!

[gushhnet]

@juopotski she mentions about 100VAC at anywhere from a few hertz to kilohertz, we do hear an 8 or so khz whine in the video... I can't help but wonder what kind of driver / psu shes using!

[jeriellsworth]

@gushhnet The frequency of the power supply doesn't seem to be very critical.  I've seen EL light up in the Hz range, but I'm sure there are sweet spots for the size and dimensions of the display.

[SuperFinGuy]

Neat! It is all about electric polarization.

[w0mblemania]

You are amazing Jeri. Big cheers.

[TerminalJack505]

Wow. That's really bright for being homemade. I have some commercial EL wire that isn't even that bright.

[chasterus]

I'd love to see a video on applying the phosphorus coating to the inner conductor! Also, teflon tubing would probably make a suitable transparent outer insulator... Great idea, and thanks for sharing!

[CagedTurkey]

for a second i thought i had a dead pixel on my monitor....

[predakanga]

Nice - I imagine it'd also be possible to get some clear rubber tubing of a slightly wider gauge than your wire assembly, fill it with phosphor, then run the wire through it, to both insulate it and keep the phosphor as a thin, and mostly uniform layer

[karmicthreat]

Any luck finding a cheaper source for phosphors? Even making phosphors sounds cheaper than the ruthenium you would otherwise need for oleds.

[Afrotechmods]

Neat!!

[jollyrgr3]

Very nice. How about placing wire inside clear tubing (like that used for fish tanks)? I don't know but possibly a power inverter from a disposable camera flash (with the storage capacitor removed) could be used as the high voltage AC supply.

[subtler1]

after it is sealed in rubber cement. how long does it last?

[jeriellsworth]

@subtler1 Moisture will kill it's life, but I have some tests that I made months ago that are still working. EL displays don't last forever even when they're encapsulated.

[morto360]

Cute and smart ;)