I don’t think that we will be able to find a pot of gold at the end of the Amsterdam Central Station even when it lights up as a Rainbow Station not too long after sunset happens. How is this transformation made possible? Well, there will be a 4-kilowatt spotlight that will project a stunning rainbow via a custom-designed liquid crystal spectral filter, all the way onto one of the station’s 45 by 25 meter (148 by 82 feet) roof arches. This will be located right above Platform 2B. The liquid crystal optics technology that is being developed is meant for research on exoplanets, although for every night for a year, it will do its job of lighting up Amsterdam Central just nice.
This unique light attraction will most probably be a unique light attraction for those who love selfies. This piece of artwork hails from artist Daan Roosegaarde and NC State University researcher and ImagineOptix Corporation founder Michael Escuti, where the whole point to it is to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the station’s opening, not to mention to kick off the UNESCO International Year of Light 2015.
Conventional methods of rainbow projection, including sending a beam of light through a prism or diffraction grating, will not work since the result would have looked washed-out, not to mention having a high percentage of light “leaking” into the surrounding environment. We do wonder what kind of power consumption this puppy has.