Crystal ball in Times Square: how it has changed since 1907 and what it is today

Despite the crazy popularity of a crystal ball in Times Square, not everyone knows what path he took to transform himself. To look into his past in order to better understand the present, the publication will help us. Events.

What was the ball in former times

In 1907, the ball consisted of metal and wooden structures, as well as dozens of incandescent lamps; he was about 1,5 meters in diameter and weighed 317 kg, the newspaper writes.

However, to the 100th anniversary of the ball in 2007, the architectural and design firm Focus Lighting improved the main attribute of the holiday in New York. Now its size exceeds 3,5 meters in diameter, its weight is about 5 tons, and the bulbs have been replaced with thousands of LEDs.

What the ball consists of today

Every year, Waterford Crystal designers change the appearance of the ball and bring something new to its design. Previously, the back surface of the crystalline parts of the ball was illuminated by LED lamps. But the designers decided to make changes, because the light should concentrate on the front of the crystals, which has faces and can catch light and shine. To implement the idea, they made an incision on the back of the crystal, the source said.

Then the designers came to mind to create the so-called SLR cameras. To do this, they moved the LEDs closer to the surface so that they better “play” on the crystals. Separation of each triangle allows you to control the lighting, creating brighter colors and intricate patterns.

Today, all modules of the ball contain 48 LEDs (their total number is 32). Thanks to this, he is able to display more than 256 million colors.

Themed "gifts" under the Christmas tree

Every year, Waterford Crystal, which has been creating crystal triangles over the ball since 2000, replaces them with new ones. The modules are cut out according to a pattern that reflects the theme of the “gift” for the New Year.

On the subject: One and a half tons of colorful confetti: how New Year was celebrated in New York

The first such “gift” was presented by Waterford in 2014, it was called “The Gift of Imagination”. Since then, the collection of presents has been replenished annually and is planned to be completed in 2023 with the “Gift of Love”.

Ball Drop Ceremony

A falling ball is not only a bright light show, but also a story told by it. The ceremony begins annually 6 hours before the New Year. The ball rises along the axis and freezes at the top.

After that, once per hour, the ball projects seven different shows, each of which is repeated every 15 minutes.

Schedule is:

6:00 - Classic looks.

7.00 - History of art and performance.

8.00 - International holiday.

9.00 - Miracles of nature.

10:00 - Four seasons of change.

11.00 - Let there be light!

00.00 - Happy New Year! May there be joy!

A minute before the New Year, the ball begins to descend along the axis from a 23-meter height. At midnight, he reaches the lowest point - this symbolizes the onset of the New Year.

As ForumDaily New York wrote earlier:

• According to tradition, every year the day before the New Year, the world famous crystal ball, which will fall at midnight, marking the onset of the new year, is tested. Thus, it is possible to avoid unpleasant moments during the official ceremony, which is monitored not only by New Yorkers, but also by all earthlings.
• Annually famous crystal ball changes its "wrapper"Pineapples became the design theme this time.
• Despite the popularity of the action, not everyone knows secrets of this tradition. For example, that the owner of The New York Times was behind the first fall of the ball in Times Square, or that at first the ball was not so festive and beautiful.