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Alex Vermeulen's floating solar panels to lift a Buddha at EindhovenEighty-eight solar cells are mounted on the black, egg-shaped floats and set to drift on a pond.1
Alex Vermeulen's floating solar panels to lift a Buddha at EindhovenDutch artist <a title="Floating Solar Panels Installation at Eindhoven Designed To Lift a Levitating Buddha" href="http://www.syndicaat.org/" target="_blank">Alex Vermeulen</a> has set 88 large black polyester eggs topped with <a title="Floating Solar Panels Installation at Eindhoven Designed To Lift a Levitating Buddha" href="http://inhabitat.com/tokyo-institute-of-technology-unveils-new-facade-decked-out-in-4500-solar-panels/" target="_blank">solar panels</a> floating in a pond at Eindhoven's <a title="Floating Solar Panels Installation at Eindhoven Designed To Lift a Levitating Buddha" href="http://www.tue.nl/en/" target="_blank">University of Technology</a>. Dubbed <a title="Floating Solar Panels Installation at Eindhoven Designed To Lift a Levitating Buddha" href="http://www.syndicaat.org/soh/19/SOHbook19/index.html" target="_blank">"SOH19 States of Nature,"</a> the project combines physics, art, technology, spirituality, solar cult and sustainable energy. Created in association with the Natuurkunst Foundation and some Applied Physics university students, the aim of this self-sustained installation is to lift a levitating Buddha sculpture using the sun's energy!2
Alex Vermeulen's floating solar panels to lift a Buddha at EindhovenSituated in a 6000 square foot pond at the University's grounds, Vermeulen's eggs generate solar power that is converted into a magnetic field.3
Alex Vermeulen's floating solar panels to lift a Buddha at EindhovenThe magnetic field makes a Buddha figure, placed within a transparent cylinder in the middle of the pond, levitate and moving up and down.4
Alex Vermeulen's floating solar panels to lift a Buddha at EindhovenThe combined energy delivered by the collection of eggs will depend on the sun's light, but also wind and water, which turn and drift the floating solar panels along the pond.5
Alex Vermeulen's floating solar panels to lift a Buddha at EindhovenOn a nice sunny day the sculpture will heave majestically at 10 foot high and on a cloudy day or during the night, the Buddha will disappear beneath the water.6
Alex Vermeulen's floating solar panels to lift a Buddha at EindhovenVermeulen's black eggs project poetically combines the forces of nature, technology and art, within a public space and for everybody to enjoy.7
