A Brazilian mechanic has invented a way of lighting his house during the day without relying on electricity.
Alfredo Moser has been using plastic bottles filled up with water and a splash of bleach to illuminate dark rooms since 2002 and now the idea has now spread across the world.
It is predicted that his lighting system, which works using refraction of sunlight, will be fitted in over a million homes by the end of this year.
The secret of the liquid which fills normal plastic drinks bottles that are often thrown away, is two capfuls of bleach added to water, which stops it turning green with algae when exposed to sunlight.
Mr Moser drills a hole in a roof tile and then pushes the filled bottle in from below, keeping the bottle in place with polyester resin, which waterproofs the 'window' in his roof.
He told Outlook on the BBC World Service that depending on the strength of sunlight, the light filling his home is the equivalent of between 40 and 60 watts.
The mechanic came up with the idea for his 'Moser light' during one of the frequent blackouts inBrazilin 2002.
He said only factories had power in his home city of Uberaba, in southernBrazilduring the energy shortage.
It was his boss that suggested using a plastic bottle filled with water as a lens to focus the sun's rays on dry grass to light fires in case of an emergency and Mr Moser developed the concept into his light.
He told BBC World Service: 'It's a divine light. God gave the sun to everyone, and light is for everyone. Whoever wants it saves money. You can't get an electric shock from it, and it doesn't cost a penny.'
Mr Moser earned a few dollars installing the lights in his local super market and neighbours' houses but his invention has not made him a wealthy man.
He said: 'There was one man who installed the lights and within a month he had saved enough to pay for the essential things for his child, who was about to be born. Can you imagine?'
Carmelinda his wife said her husband has always been handy at home and have made tables and chairs.
Illac Angelo Diaz, executive director of the MyShelter Foundation in thePhilippinesalso admires Mr Moser's ingenuity.
The charity uses recycled materials to build houses and has plenty of bottle donations, which it fills with mud to build walls and water to create windows.
It now incorporates water bottles in roofs since learning of the Moser method and also trains local people to do the same in order to earn a small living.
Moser lamps have reportedly been fitted in over 140,000 homes in the Philippineswhere a quarter of the population live in poverty, as well as in 15 other countries, includingArgentina,IndiaandFiji.
Mr Diaz believes over one million people have installed Moser lights in 2013 and credits the mechanic with transforming people's lives.
'Whether or not he gets the Nobel Prize, we want him to know that there are a great number of people who admire what he is doing,' he said.
Mr Moser told the BBC he never imagined his invention would have such an impact but said it gives him goose bumps if he thinks how many people are using Moser lights.
阿爾弗雷多·莫澤說,這種利用太陽折射發(fā)光的瓶子燈泡能像40-60瓦的電燈泡一樣照亮一個(gè)黑暗的房間。
據(jù)英國《每日郵報(bào)》8月14日?qǐng)?bào)道,一位巴西機(jī)修工發(fā)明了一種日間不需用電即可為房屋照明的方法。
自2002年以來,阿爾弗雷多·莫澤就利用裝有水和少量漂白劑的塑料瓶為黑暗的房間照明,這個(gè)想法現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)傳遍全世界。
有人預(yù)言,2013年底,莫澤這套利用陽光折射的照明系統(tǒng)將進(jìn)入1百萬戶家庭。
他使用的材料是常被人丟棄的塑料飲料瓶,不過里面的液體有一個(gè)秘密,除水之外還要加少許漂白劑,它能防止暴露在陽光下的水因生長(zhǎng)藻類而變綠。
莫澤在屋頂?shù)耐咂香@一個(gè)孔,把裝滿水的瓶子自下向上卡在孔里,再用聚酯樹脂固定瓶子的位置,這種材料還能為他在屋頂上開的這些“天窗”防雨。他說,依靠日光折射,他家里的照明功率相當(dāng)于40到60瓦。
巴西經(jīng)常停電,在2002年一次停電時(shí),這位機(jī)修工想出了制造這種“莫澤燈”的主意。他說,他的家鄉(xiāng)是巴西南部城市烏貝拉巴(Uberaba),那里只有工廠才有電。
他的老板曾經(jīng)在一次緊急情況下建議用塑料瓶裝滿水,把它們當(dāng)做聚焦陽光的透鏡在干草上點(diǎn)火,莫澤基于這個(gè)想法發(fā)明了他的水瓶燈。
他對(duì)英國廣播公司國際頻道說:“這是天賜的光明。上帝把太陽賜給每個(gè)人,光明是每個(gè)人的。誰想要這種光誰就省錢。它不會(huì)讓你觸電,也不用花一分錢。”
莫澤為當(dāng)?shù)爻泻袜従蛹野惭b這種燈,從中他只能賺到幾塊錢,他的發(fā)明并沒幫他成為富翁。他說:“有人安裝這種燈,一個(gè)月后,他就為即將出世的孩子攢夠了買必須品的錢。你能想象嗎?”妻子卡梅琳達(dá)說,莫澤在家里很能干,曾自己動(dòng)手做過桌椅。
亞克·迪亞茲(llac Angelo Diaz)是菲律賓“我的庇護(hù)所基金”(MyShelter Foundation)的執(zhí)行理事,他十分欽佩莫澤巧妙的發(fā)明。
這個(gè)慈善組織利用可回收材料建造房屋,他們擁有很多捐獻(xiàn)的瓶子,他們?cè)谄孔永镅b滿泥沙建造墻壁,裝滿水建造窗子。
迪亞茲相信,2013年有超過1百萬人安裝了莫澤燈,他贊揚(yáng)這位機(jī)修工改變了人們的生活。“無論他得不得諾貝爾獎(jiǎng),我們都想讓他知道,很多人都很欽佩他的做法,”他說。
莫澤說從沒想到他的發(fā)明能影響這么多人,但他說,當(dāng)他想到多少在用莫澤燈的時(shí)候確實(shí)很激動(dòng)。