Arc reactor alarm clock
By Ben Everard. Posted
This article was originally published as part of HackSpace magazine, which has since been incorporated into Raspberry Pi Official Magazine.
We are – or at least, we used to be – huge fans of the Marvel cinematic universe and all the props and cosplay that it has given us over the years. One classic of the genre is Iron Man’s arc reactor — the glowing power source that sits in Tony Stark’s chest and powers his special suit. It’s almost a cosplay rite of passage to build your own arc reactor, so here’s our favourite implementation: an arc reactor that’s also an alarm clock.
As an arc reactor is basically a round, glowing thing, it should come as no surprise that Jéjé starts with an off-the-shelf NeoPixel ring, powered by a Mini ESP32. The structure that holds the electronics is printed out of black and transparent PLA, and there are ten coils of copper wire – these don’t do anything, but they do look extremely cool.
Jéjé’s provided detailed instructions for anyone who wants to make their own version, so you too can tell the time like a fictional genius billionaire playboy philanthropist.
Program a robot arm, with Raspberry Pi and Python code
Ben is the Editor of HackSpace magazine. When not wrangling words, he enjoys cycling, gardening, and attempting to identify wild mushrooms.
Subscribe to Raspberry Pi Official Magazine
Save up to 37% off the cover price and get a FREE Raspberry Pi Pico 2 W with a subscription to Raspberry Pi Official Magazine.
More articles
Kuensa portable music sequencer
We like the look of where this device is going.
Read more →
Cyberdeck
We can’t imagine the looks you’d get using this machine on your daily commute, but apparently the maker of this wonderful machine does just that.
Read more →
Programming station
Spot the microcontroller: we can see an Arduino Uno, Arduino Nano, a pair of ESP32 boards, and a Raspberry Pi Pico, all waiting to be played with.
Read more →