LED Lights

Thousands of carefully planned feet of wires and cables, and approximately 3 million lights make up the Galaxy Lights exhibits. The 200-foot LED light tunnel alone is made of more than 250,000 lights!

Many exhibits like this are able to be created thanks to electrical engineers and designers working with light-emitting diode (LED) lights. These lights use much less electricity and release substantially less heat than more traditional incandescent holiday lights.

The quick description of how LED lights work is that they are illuminated by the movement of tiny particles known as electrons in a specific type of material when electricity passes through them. On a deeper level, diodes contain two semiconductor materials side by side, one with a negative charge and one with a positive charge. The electric current causes electrons to move from the negative side to the positive side, and from the positive side to the negative side. During this process known as electroluminescence, they make the beautiful light we see in the holiday displays!

Coding

If you’ve ever watched a holiday light show set to music, like the 40-foot crystal fireworks show at Galaxy Lights, you also have computer code to thank. While lights that stay on constantly can be controlled by a sample on/off switch, ones that need to activate or change color at a specific moment need instructions to tell them what to do.

This is where computer code comes in. On computer software, lighting show designers are able to create light art, sending commands that control each light in time with the music. Think of it as a digital conductor pointing at each light bulb that it wants to turn on at the right moment. Since the code and commands remain the same each time the code is run, it ensures that the light show looks identical each time.

So if you enjoyed the show the first time, be sure to come back for an identical encore performance!

Digital Design

Many holiday light displays also involve some impressive sculpting. One way that these structures are designed is through Computer Aided Design (CAD) software. These tools allow engineers and designers to digitally sculpt and plan the shapes before they are physically made.

The team at Bright Lights who designs the Galaxy Lights exhibits uses Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop, alongside the CAD software SketchUp.

This year I also partnered with Space Center Houston to make my own creation in a CAD software for Galaxy Lights. And it’s one that you can even download and 3D print at home!

I created a space inspired holiday ornament inspired by the idea of a 3D space mission patch. It features a rocket blasting off in front of a snowflake design, perfect for outer space and winter fans in your life.

I originally learned the CAD software SolidWorks while I was getting my mechanical engineering degree, and I’ve loved using it for both engineering and artistic purposes since then. The ornament is a celebration of combining art, engineering, and science! 100 of these were 3D printed for the Galaxy Lights kickoff event, but you can also make your own!

You can get the 3D printable .STL file here to make on your school or home 3D printer.

If you want to see more about the design process, you can watch my behind-the-scenes video on Instagram here.

Additionally, if you want to check out some incredible engineering and holiday light art for yourself, use code LIGHTSEWA for $5 off Galaxy Lights Admission! Redeem online with or in person now through 01/05/25 and receive $5 off regular adult, senior or child Space Center Houston Galaxy Lights Admission. Limit six (6) people per coupon. Cannot be combined with any other offer or discount. Children 3 and younger are admitted free.

Happy holidays!

Sources:

https://www.energy.gov/articles/how-do-holiday-lights-work

https://electronics.howstuffworks.com/led.htm

Guest Contributor: Erin Winick Anthony, Founder of STEAM Power Media & Digital Storyteller

The post The Engineering Behind Holiday Light Displays appeared first on Space Center Houston.

Humans are heading back to the Moon and the tech and research needed to make that happen extends far beyond rockets! Explore these technologies and more at the Moon 2 Mars Festival presented by Wellby Financial at Space Center Houston, March 13-16, 2024. 

This year’s festival combines high-energy performances by popular rock band The All-American Rejects with innovative and fun activities from commercial space companies in the region. The Moon 2 Mars Festival celebrates and showcases the wonders of space exploration, special activations and experiences and live musical performances.

Learn more and get your tickets today! 

The post VIDEO | See 3 Technologies Helping Us Return to the Moon at Moon 2 Mars appeared first on Space Center Houston.

Lights have always been intertwined with the holidays. What may have started with a few candle flames to celebrate has now evolved into elaborate spectacles of flashes and color in trees and elaborate displays. 

But those colors and lights do not just magically happen. We need a little sprinkle of science to form them! 

We have the electromagnetic spectrum to thank for those bright displays of holiday cheer. The electromagnetic spectrum consists of a wide range of waves that carry energy through open space. Unlike a physical ocean wave, electromagnetic waves do not need a medium like water to travel through. They can even travel through the vacuum of space. Everything from microwave ovens to televisions use electromagnetic energy that is a part of this spectrum. 

However, when it comes to the holidays, we want color!

All the varieties of colored visible light are formed due to the distance between the peaks of light waves. Light travels in an up-and-down pattern like you might see in waves at the beach. How far these peaks of the wave are from each other changes the color our eyes perceive, or whether our eyes can even perceive it at all! 

Of the waves we can see, red has the longest wavelength, meaning it also has the weakest energy. Purple is the most energetic with the shortest wavelength. It has the most densely packed waves of visible colors. The other colors of the rainbow in between span the rest of the visible light wavelengths. 

Far beyond what our eyes can see are other types of waves like high-energy gamma rays and low-energy radar waves. These other waves can be useful in things like medical imaging or communication systems, but will not contribute much to our holiday celebrations. 

Modern engineers also use these holiday light displays to push our use of color to the extreme. From massive glowing structures to drone shows, holiday displays worldwide are getting more technologically advanced every year. You can even see some perfect examples here in Texas. Space Center Houston is the only place in the U.S. outside of Las Vegas, Nevada where you can see a kinetic light show. The Center’s kinetic light show has 16 million different color combinations. You can also find a 40-foot-tall crystal fireworks display which consists of a cascading light installation at the Galaxy Lights event. This is one of only two crystal fireworks displays in the world. 

Witness these displays for yourself and have your eyes flooded with visible light waves! And be sure to check out the interactive “Celebrate Light” live show to learn more about the science behind them. 

Galaxy Lights waves goodbye on January 7, 2024 — So, don’t miss out. Have a happy and science-filled holiday! 

The post The Science Behind Holiday Lights appeared first on Space Center Houston.