PRIMER
Photograph by Sam Murphy
ELECTROLUMINESCENT (EL) WIRE
It’s easy to work with flexible strands of light.
An electric field can excite phosphorescent materials to glow; that’s the principle of electro-luminescence. Since the mid-1970s, this cool form of illumination has back-lit flat panels for gauges and small displays, and in the 1990s a company called Elam found a way to create the same glow from bendable, shapeable wire.
Electroluminescent wire, aka EL wire or lightwire, soon became a favorite medium for creative electronics projects that light up at night. The wire’s flexibility and length let you ...
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