Lights Out For The Lightbulb
Wed, Jan 2, 2008
Stock up on your old light bulbs now,
because soon they’ll be obsolete and worth a fortune! This is because a new super efficient light bulb is being developed. Experts have found a way to make Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) brighter and use less power than energy efficient light bulbs currently on the market.
The technology, used in gadgets such as mobile phones and computers, had previously not been powerful enough to be used for lighting. But Glasgow University scientists think they’ve soleved this problem.
The Institute of Photonics at the University of Strathclyde, has developed a project which involves making microscopic holes in the surface of LEDs to increase the level of light they give off. And it has the nifty name of nano-imprint lithography.
Dr Faiz Rahman, who is leading the project, said:
“As yet, LEDs have not been introduced as the standard lighting in homes because the process of making the holes is very time consuming and expensive. However, we believe we have found a way of imprinting the holes into billions of LEDs at a far greater speed, but at a much lower cost.”
Bad news for the humble light bulb, but excellent news if you’re a light bulb scientist and are looking for a job – get yourselves to Glasgow!
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January 4th, 2008 at 4:44 pm
I have already started to collect incandescent bulbs for future use. The ignorance around the whole issue of cfl/incandescent lightbulbs is astonishing! All the heat lost in a house by using expensive, pollutant ‘cfl’ bulbs will only be replaced by turning other heat sources up anyway. Also cfls do not last nearly as long as their sellers say, and are slow to reach maximum intensity, and too dim for use in places like stairwells etc.. Nor are they suitable for use in areas where spinning machinery is in operation. If incandescent bulbs are unobtainable many functions will have to be carried out in insufficient light, leading to accidents. Still, who cares if man is hurt as long as his ‘environment’ is not?!!! Certainly no-one in the ‘green’ movement.JD.