Hanukkah Can Be Green, Too!

Two Yeshiva University physics students wanted to “green” these public menorahs, so they invented a wind-powered menorah, which they tested out this evening to mark the first night of Hanukkah.

From the New York Times City Blog:

“Their menorah is four feet wide and four feet tall, made of plastic and spray-painted gold. The lights are nine compact fluorescent bulbs. A cable connects them to a car battery. Another cable connects the battery to a wind turbine with a two-foot propeller…. The propeller turns a generator that generates current to charge the batteries. They provide a constant current and voltage to the compact fluorescent bulbs, which give more light on less power than incandescent bulbs.”

As Mark Stauber, one of the student inventors, remarked:

“In the miracle of the menorah, they got back to the temple and there was only enough oil for one night, but they made it last eight days…. I see an analogy with the world’s fight for sustainable energy, to take that and make it last as long as we’re going to need it.”

Happy Hanukkah.