4/15/2005

LED evolution could replace the light bulb

In the upcoming years, LED technology could virtually replace the standard light bulb. This new technology isn’t that new. It was first developed in the 60’s but has seen little use except for in alarm clocks and battery level of video cameras. The large drawback has been producing whit light. In the past they could only produce red, green, and yellow light. Nichia Chemical of Japan was able to make a breakthrough when they produced a blue light. Nichia combined the new blue with red and green to produce a white light.
The big fuss with the LED is they use less wattage and will last up to 50 times as long as a 60-watt bulb.

2 comments:

Dr. Tufte said...

The problem with new technology is that it isn't always enough. You also have to have an industrial organization that can get that new technology to market.

So, let's think about this. No one has a patent on LED technology. No one has experience in building large LEDs (say, to light a room). Lastly, the market for light products is likely to be either perfectly or monopolistically competitive.

My prediction is that this goes nowhere unless there is some push from the government. Things like compact fluorescent bulbs didn't take off until the electric utilities were subsidized to give them away.

Anonymous said...

I disagree with your assessment... lots of people are getting interested in LED bulbs, and sales are rising exponentially.
Also, one of the big reasons that people hate CFLs is the minimum 5mg of mercury vapor in each bulb... and LEDs don't have that problem.
If you want to learn more about it, I suggest going to http://weloveleds.com/