TECHNOLOGY: Times Squares New Years

Every year millions of people spend their New Years out in the streets on Manhattan to celebrate. There are tons of special concerts, bar specials, and of course the special ball dropping in Times Square.

It is quite a site. Not only do these millions of people squish into Times Square, but even more people are watching this event from home. So this year New York gets a new gift, a brand new ball to drop!

Here check out this video. It's the revealing of last year's ball.


The new ball is the biggest and best New Year's ball that has ever been designed. It is twice the diameter of the last one, it's over 12 feet wide, and weighs 11,875 pounds. That's huge! And that's not even the best part!

Lights! The ball has exactly 32,256 LED bulbs. That's compared to the 9,000 some on last years. That difference in number alone should send you chills. I'm telling you, this ball of light will be visible for miles and will help light up Times Square more than it already is. They have over 4.3 billion color combinations to play with. This is in any lighting techs dreams.

Although it is bigger, it is 20% more energy efficient than the one in that last video, making it the brightest and greenest ball of all time. After New Years is over, the ball will stay in Time Square and help illuminate the New York atmosphere.

The ball of light was developed by Lighting Science Group Corporation, and we thank you!