El Wire Explained What It Is, What It Does, How You Can Use It In Your Projects

EL wire is a very high efficiency source of electroluminescence

. It"s basically a wire coated in phosphor with as second, much finer wire wrapped around it together they form a coaxial capacitor. The efficiency of the circuit means that the wire can be powered for a very long time, at a very long length, with simple AA batteries.

The phosphor coating on the copper core begins to glow when an alternating current is passed between the core wire and the surrounding filament. The colour emitted is normally a bluish green. The wire is wrapped in a clear sleeve to protect its active elements, and then a coloured sleeve is added that serves to change the hue of the illumination.

The illumination given off by EL wire is known as cool illumination because it gives out very little heat. The uses, of course, of a flexible structure that can give light without heat are many and varied. If you need to illuminate part of a project but cant risk putting a heat source next to delicate circuitry, or next to a casing material that represents a fire hazard, then EL wire is potentially the right solution.

Also, if you need to restrict the energy use of your project then you can use El wire either powered by AA batteries or powered off the same source as the rest of your project, for example using a resonant oscillator.

EL wire is commonly used to add detail to projects for instance by defining the corners of a crystal clock or ice clock box. It has practical applications for theatre, both on and off stage for example, a variant of El wire may be used to light the way to emergency exits in the case of a power failure. The tiny power source required in making the wire light up, and the relatively long length of wire that can be powered by that source, makes it ideal for showing the way to emergency exits in blackout situations.

On stage, EL wire is ideal for drawing attention to costumes and for creating visual effects that distract the audience from the people inside them. For example, by dressing actors in black, and creating shapes on their black costumes with the EL wire, it is possible for a set and stage designer to create the illusion that there are no people on stage at all.

The same kind of illusion is used to animate signs, by using sequential; clusters of EL wire fired alternately. For a fraction of the cost of using neon, for example, you can illuminate an animated sign over a night spot or pub. Each part of the animation is connected to a different circuit. With enough depth in the casing of this kind of project you can produce quite complex animations.

EL wire provides energy efficient, low cost light for a variety of purposes, normally decorative or for effect. It is less suitable for illumination to see and work by, though its emergency exit application is of course very useful.

by: Ewan Fisher

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