#chrisrand : my goal with this exercise was to make a lantern that can be physically adjusted to produce different intensities of light without regulating the current- not using a dimmer.
Bands of fabric ribbon are wrapped around a plastic cylinder from a one layer thick to four layers thick. The central plunger (and handle) contains four AAA batteries that power a LED. The LED is contained between two plastic caps covered in mylar which restrict the light to illuminate one band at a tim. As the plunger moves, the light is muted like an analog dimmer.
The video shows the subtle effect that is created with only one LED and a detail view of interior guts. I was pleasantly surprised that the saturation of the green ribbon gets deeper as the illumination is muted.
