It’s not the latest thing in the tea aisle; it’s an ingenious portable lamp invented by a Korean designer.
As the bag’s contents dissolve, the cup is filled.... with light
It’s called Lighting Bag and, although it looks like a tea bag, it really isn’t. And it’s not exactly a "lamp" either. To be more precise, it’s a "chemical light source" composed of 2 elements.
There’s a transparent glass cup full of chemical liquid on the one hand, and, on the other, a bag containing florescent molecules. How does this curious lamp light up? Well, the light is created thanks to a catalytic converter that is activated by the chemical reaction produced when you mix the ingredients in the cup with those in the bag. In other words: when you put the little bag in the liquid, the cup starts glowing and lights up everything around you as if by magic.
This clever lamp was part of Wonsik Chae’s thesis project at the University of Industrial Design in Hongik, Korea. The designer’s intention with this project was to prove that creating fluid light shapes is not a difficult task. And, in fact, Lighting Bag shows us how light flows naturally.
Beyond the conceptual meaning of this clever invention, it’s also a very practical item to take on camping trips. Don’t have electricity in your plot? Fill the cup with the ingredients, put the little bag in, and voilá, you’ve got light!