The "Times Square Ball" has 32,256 LEDs lighting its journey down the pole
In honor of the ball drop's centennial anniversary, a brand new fifth design debuted for New Year's Eve 2008. Once again manufactured by Waterford Crystal with a diameter of 6 feet (1.8 m), but weighing 1,212 pounds (550 kg), it used LED lamps provided by Philips (which can produce 16,777,216 or 224 colors), with computerized lighting patterns developed by the New York City-based lighting firm Focus Lighting. The ball featured 9,576 energy-efficient bulbs that consumed the same amount of electricity as only 10 toasters.[2] The 2008 ball was only used once, and was placed on display at the Times Square Visitors Center following the event. For 2009, a larger version of the fifth ball was introduced—an icosahedral geodesic sphere lit by 32,256 LED lamps. At 12 feet (3.7 m) in diameter, containing 2,688 Waterford Crystal panels, with a weight of 11,875 pounds (5,386 kg), it is twice as large as the 2008 ball. It was also designed to be weatherproof, as the ball would now be displayed atop One Times Square nearly year-round following the celebrations.[42][37][46] @Curionic
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