Frequently Asked Questions

• What is the Suit of Light?
• Whose idea was it to make a jacket that lights up?
• How can I buy a Suit of Light for myself?
• What is an LED?
• Who is Roger Baldwin?
• Termini hesterni sunt ludi crastini?

What is the Suit of Light?

The Suit of Light is a fireman's jacket covered with high-intensity light emitting diodes (LEDs). Patterns of stripes flow across the jacket under control of the wearer. For more information and a movie of the Suit of Light in action, take a look at our technology page.

Dangerous Interactive Systems is currently seeking patent protection for our Flighty Light Technology (FLiT). Until our application is filed, we cannot describe all of the capabilities of the Suit of Light on this website. Please accept our apologies, and send us your email address if you would like to be notified when this site is updated.

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Whose idea was it to make a jacket that lights up?

The desire to be clothed in light is probably as old as the human imagination. The bullfighter's glittering costume is called traje de luces, or suit of lights. Vaudeville performers have taken the stage wrapped in Christmas lights, sometimes with unintentionally pyrotechnic results, and of course there's the infamous outfit that gave the movie The Electric Horseman its name. Although more a sleeve than a suit, this remarkable artwork shows that personal ornamentation with patterns of LEDs was not invented by Dangerous Interactive Systems.

So what is our new idea? It's the way in which Suits of Light interact.

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How can I buy a Suit of Light for myself?

We are working on ways to standardize some components so that the Suit of Light can be sold in at least limited quantities. If our ideas work out as planned, the more people have Suits of Light the more fun it will be to have one. Visit our contact page and let us know if you'd like to be kept informed.

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What is an LED?

LED stands for light emitting diode. An LED resembles a little light bulb, but because it's a semiconductor chip it is very durable and shines with a single, pure color.

Like all diodes, LEDs consist of a junction between two dissimilar types of semiconductor, one of which contains negatively charged mobile particles (electrons) while the other contains positive carriers (holes), which are actually vacancies in a lower energy state otherwise completely filled by electrons. When electric current flows through the diode, electrons and holes move towards the junction and annihilate in pairs. Energy is released in the form of light (photons) and heat (phonons). The fraction of energy converted to light has been improved by advances in aluminum indium gallium phosphide and indium gallium nitride/silicon carbide quantum well fabrication, creating (reasonably) affordable LEDs in new colors and of unprecedented brightness.

Dangerous Interactive Systems has achieved excellent results with the following part numbers, and we recommend them without hesitation to other electronic folk artists:

Side by side comparisons of innumerable LEDs and products containing them can be found at the LED Museum. We would also like to call your attention to a rigorous but unconventional approach to the theory of semiconductor devices.

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Who is Roger Baldwin?

Roger Baldwin is a professor of history and cultural critic whose movie reviews and other writings periodically appear on DangerousInteractive.com. You can read his work or send him email.

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Termini hesterni sunt ludi crastini?

The Latin motto of Dangerous Interactive Systems, which you may have noticed on our home page, means "Yesterday's frontiers are tomorrow's playgrounds." The value of technical progress is an article of faith for us, but progress is often narrowly construed to mean taking something impossible and making it practical. At Dangerous Interactive Systems, we work to transform the practical into the playful.

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