I consider Sol Burst to be my first 'hybrid' kinetic sculpture in that the pattern wheels are moved by the force of a descending weight and the weight is raised  via electric motor. Like my two other electric sculptures, Apogee and Eidoscope, I designed Sol Burst so that it could run perpetually without the need for winding.

Sol Burst's pattern wheels receive a small 'push' when the rear pattern wheel begins to spin counter clockwise and triggers an escapement mechanism.  The escapement mechanism allows the descending weight to drop a small amount while providing the energy to give the pattern wheels a new 'push'.  When the weight descends to its lowest position, an electric motors awakes and raises the weight to its highest position where it begins the descent cycle again -  occurring about once every hour.  It takes only a few seconds for the sleeping motor to wake, raise the weight, and return to sleep mode. As a result, Sol Burst runs very quiet while consuming less power than charging a cell phone.

Upon flipping the power switch located on the underside of Sol Burst, the weight is immediately raised to its highest position which starts the pattern wheels' motion.   The sculpture makes soft clicking noises as the pattern wheels spin.

The sculpture runs off a small 9 volt transformer that can be plugged into any standard electrical outlet. The power cord can be hidden with a cord cover which can be painted to match the wall.