The invention of blue light-emitting diodes that are central to the energy-efficient lights illuminating homes, offices and electronic displays has earned three scientists the 2014 Nobel Prize in physics. Isamu Akasaki of Meijo University and Nagoya University in Japan, Hiroshi Amano of Nagoya University and Shuji Nakamura of the University of California. The blue LED is the crucial ingredient for white LED lamps, which are rapidly replacing incandescent bulbs. Edison’s classic invention uses a filament that emits light in a range of colors that together look white. But a lot of electricity gets wasted heating the filament rather than generating light. LEDs are far more energy efficient because they use electrons to generate photons. LEDs are made out of layers of semiconductors, materials similar to the ones in computer chips.
Posted on: Wed, 08 Oct 2014 02:59:07 +0000
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