Mercurial Light Box Has A Secret Switch

Hit up the lighting aisle of any big box hardware store these days and you’ll probably find a variety of Edison bulbs — modern bulbs meant to evoke the bare, complicated tungsten filament bulbs from the early days of electric candlelight. Edison bulbs use filament LEDs, which resemble skinny candles with wicks at both ends and give off a nice light, especially when diffused by acrylic.

This simple light box uses two filament LEDs that float inside on an internal circuit sculpture. [lonesoulsurfer] likes to use old cell phone batteries and USB charging boards in his builds, and that’s exactly what’s inside this box.

Our favorite part of the build elevates this simple light box into a curiosity for those not in the know. It’s controlled with a mercury tilt switch, so all you’d have to do in a power outage is locate the box and turn it upside down, provided it has a charge.

We love elemental switch design around here, like this light box that switches on with salt water.