Photo Sensor as dimmer, not switch?

[far2canadian]

Hi,

I have a (hopefully) very basic question here, coming from limited experience in electrical design work.

Is it possible to use a photosensor/cell as a dimmer, rather than a switch? I'd like to build a faux skylight, and to make the "faux" as realistic as possible, I'd like to have it dim through the day (and turn off at night). I could achieve this will a normal dimmer, but I'd rather not have to operate it manually. I also considered research a time based system that brighten and darken as the hours progressed, but I would need to adjust it throughout the year for summer vs. winter.

My ideal would be to use a photosensor to apply resistance to the circuit as the sun dims, and reduce resistance as the sunlight increases. Ideal light source would be LED or fluorescent. Is this possible?

Thanks.

 

[Dennis Alwon]

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