Despite my many years living on Planet Earth, I have yet to witness a solar eclipse. In case you’ve forgotten your sixth-grade astronomy, a solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between the Sun and the Earth, and the Moon partly or completely covers the Sun. Total solar eclipses are rare, although reportedly lovely–what you see is a small ring of light around the otherwise darkened Sun. Inspired by this total eclipse (of the Sun, not the heart), Nissyoku is a creative little light designed by Hungarian students Daniel Lorincz and Alberto Vasquez, who study at the Budapest University of Technoligy and Economics (BME) and at the Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design Budapest (MOME). Lorincz and Vasquez have formed Igendesign in order to solve design dilemmas and promote their country’s vision: “We stand for Hungarian culture in design at the international stage.” Igendesign is named so because “the word 'igen' represents our attitude to design: we say 'igen' - that is yes - to the problems and challenges.”

Nissyoku Lamp. Designed by Ingedesign.

Their Nissyoku Lamp is made up of two halves of a sphere. These panels move in many directions: “The way and strength of the light is adjusted by the degree of the turning. The two panels move on the concave surface made out of the intersection of the two globes. The panels are fixed on the lamp by the magnets.” A middle metal ring acts as a switch, turning the light on and off. Each panel includes a 5W high-powered LED. Given both my inability to understand complex mechanical technologies and Igendesign’s difficulty with the English language, I can’t elucidate the inner working of Nissyoku. Instead, I offer a sample explanation direct from Igendesign: “The accumulator is not a battery: Hybrid supercapacitors have much higher power density than batteries. Hybrid capacitors are of tens of thousands of cycle life and tolerant to severe temperature with no maintenance over ten years. It is ideally applied in the function of frequent fast charge and discharge. Supercapacitor is life is semi-permanent with no maintenance, over 500,000 cycles.” Clear? Yes, clear as mud.

Whatever its inner trappings, Nissyoku is a nifty design. Use it as a table or wall lamp, joining the two halves either to each other or to two metal discs (for the wall mount). Turn the small cut-outs within each half-planet to mimic the passing phases of a solar eclipse. When closed, Nissyoku is its own star–the thin rings of light glowing like the climactic moment in a total eclipse. People have suggested it’s a great gift for tennis players, but I think it’s a great light to hang in all science classrooms–why not get design to illustrate scientific concepts? School might be a lot more illuminating.