Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

I mean, lighting was kind of a killer app


We still refer to the electricity bill as the “light bill” in Brazil.


I'm an American, and this is what my mother calls it, though I call it the electric bill.


Same in Poland


and electric motors.


If I think of everything I use electricity for these days, lighting* is pretty far down the list of usefulness. The sun can fill 80% of my lighting needs, giving up on the 20% really doesn't seem like it would be that painful.

I actually thought the list of items in the ad in the article was far more convincing than lighting as a use case.

Today my list of more important use cases would include things like long distance communication, refrigeration, transportation*, cooking/manufacturing, computing, data storage, small cameras, medical uses*...

except in so far as light is how I use electricity to make light for information transfer purposes. Something like e-ink would be an adequate substitute though.

* ICE engines do fill a lot of this niche, but not all of it. Subways, elevators, and the like are made much better via electricity.

** Imaging devices especially come to mind


Where do you live? For half the year, we have less than 12 hours of sunlight.

Prior to electricity, humanity has spent a lot of time and effort to have light past sundown.


I think you massively underestimate how annoying not being able to see after dark is.




Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: