SX0T

Hi, I am a young artist (25) and I am in the conceptual stages of a piece I want to make, but have a few questions that require the aid of some knowledgeable electricians. Hopefully I can present my project and get some answers without too much confusion.

What I am looking to do is find a way to suspend a tube light (fluorescent, LED, whatever I can use or works best) in space using string. The problem, is that I want it to be lit, but not have to be attached to any sort of huge fixture like the ones on my ceiling that typically get long tubes put into.

Is there a way to power a tube lightbulb, (florescent, LED, or otherwise) without it being attached to a fixture, and without some crazy wiring that would need to be done.

For reference, I have a picture of the general idea that I am trying to convey:





Maybe there is something that already exists to help do this? Or maybe there is a special bulb that isn't LED or Fluorescent that can make this happen. Just hoping I can get a few answers.

Thanks in advance for any help!

-Scott

220/221

You could suspend it with stealthy wires instead of string. You still need a remote ballast to power it and I'm not sure how safe it would be but....it could be done.

One wire on each end for a push pin lamp, two wire on each end for the more common bi pin lamp.


There's also Neon but it's a smaller diameter.

Yoyizit

#30 wire wrap carries 8A to 10A before it melts and it's very thin, but the insulation is only good for 100v.
At 10' per ohm, most lighting setups won't be bothered by this much resistance.
The string that it's wrapped around will provide the tensile strength.

If you go with LEDs there probably will not be a shock danger, like you might have with fluorescents used with this kind of wire.

If the whole setup is out of most people's reach you might be able to use bare wire.

SX0T

Wires would be perfectly acceptable for me as a way to hang them. Are you saying that the 2 wires that would go to each end from the remote ballast could be the same wires that I use to suspend the lights?

If so - anywhere I can do some good research on remote ballast technology? Is this something I could buy or would I need to make it?

I also think neon would work - but wouldn't that require a remote ballast also? And if that's the case, I'm not sure it would be worth the cost. vs. the fluorescent.

220/221

Go to Home Depot and but a cheap fixture. Take it apart, see how it's wired and go from there.

Yoyizit

Yes, provided they have the tensile strength. #30 copper will hold up 0.8 pound, and the strength doubles every 3 gauge numbers, so #24 will hold 3.2 pounds.

BTW, some fluorescents need a nearby Ground Plane in order to start reliably. You might want to check with the manuf. for your particular system.