A Nobel Prize has been awarded for the creations of blue light-emitting diodes (LED) that could help save energy.
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for 2014 to Isamu Akasaki, of Meijo University in Nagoya and Nagoya University, Japan; Hiroshi Amano, of Nagoya University, Japan, and Shuji Nakamura of the University of California, Santa Barbara, for the invention of "efficient blue light-emitting diodes which has enabled bright and energy-saving white light sources," the Nobel Foundation reported.
The eco-friendly light source creates white light in a new way through LEDS. The researchers first produced blue light using beams from their semi-conductors in the early 1990s. Red and green diodes have been used for years, but they could not be used without the ability to produce blue light.
White LED lamps emit a bright white light and are longer lasting and more energy efficient than common bulbs. About one-fourth of world electricity consumption is used for lighting purposes, and this new light source could dramatically cut down on the rate of energy waste.
LED bulbs get more efficient with higher luminous flux per unit electrical input power.The most recent record is just over 300 lumen/watt, which is comparable to 16 regular light bulbs.
"The LED lamp holds great promise for increasing the quality of life for over 1.5 billion people around the world who lack access to electricity grids: due to low power requirements it can be powered by cheap local solar power," the Nobel Foundation stated.
The technology used to create light through a blue LED is only two decades old, but has allowed researchers to look at light in a new way; the 21st century will most likely be primarily lit by LEDs.
