Blue LEDs Given Nobel Prize in Physics

CommanderFrank

CommanderFrank

Cat Can't Scratch It
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The Nobel Prize in Physics has been awarded to the three scientists who perfected the blue LED which led to the lighting revolution that we are presently experiencing. The LED in theory, has been around for over a hundred years, but with improvements and materials being refined, the LED has only recently come into its own.

This year's prize stands in sharp contrast to last year's award in physics, which went to the development of the theory that suggested the existence of the Higgs boson.
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UV LEDs are playing a huge role in emerging medical and scientific research applications. Household lighting seems rather insignificant by comparison.
 
Wrecked Em said:
UV LEDs are playing a huge role in emerging medical and scientific research applications. Household lighting seems rather insignificant by comparison.
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It may seem that way but it really isn't

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One Hundred And Twenty Nine Billion Dollars... that's a lot of wasted dosh on top of all that pollution that comes from feeding the things.
 
Kor said:
It may seem that way but it really isn't

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One Hundred And Twenty Nine Billion Dollars... that's a lot of wasted dosh on top of all that pollution that comes from feeding the things.
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You know what is a lot of wasted dosh? All the tax payer money blown on high salaries of all the failed "green energy" companies. Money would have been better spent buying every house a single LED bulb.
 
True and it's government subsidies [our money] being thrown on green tech that has just as many drawbacks as good old carbon based power.
Bat/bird chopping, frying and the vast land needed for such devices.

Only the rich can afford LED bulbs that range from $15-$30 a pop.
 
ep0x73 said:
Only the rich can afford LED bulbs that range from $15-$30 a pop.
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I guess I buy the cheap ones. Costco, Home Depot, Lowes always have sales. I bought a 4 pack for $20. Going to buy a few more next week. Replacing all the lights with LED's, if I can. Prices have come down a lot, and when on sale, it's a lot less. Good savings, long life. They are worth it for me.
 
ep0x73 said:
True and it's government subsidies [our money] being thrown on green tech that has just as many drawbacks as good old carbon based power.
Bat/bird chopping, frying and the vast land needed for such devices.

Only the rich can afford LED bulbs that range from $15-$30 a pop.
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LED bulb's last a really long time more than long enough to justify the initial cost. You could replace 10 regular ass bulbs in the time it takes for one to start dropping down in effective lighting levels. Couple that with the power savings and the reduction in emissions and short of having to choose between light and... food I'd say the cost is entirely justifiable if you replace all your bulbs over a couple of months.
 
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ep0x73 said:
True and it's government subsidies [our money] being thrown on green tech that has just as many drawbacks as good old carbon based power.
Bat/bird chopping, frying and the vast land needed for such devices.

Only the rich can afford LED bulbs that range from $15-$30 a pop.
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Do you even give a damn about whether birds are dying? If you do, you better be a vegetarian.

Fossil fuel also kills birds. Not to mention damaging an entire ecosystem when something breaks. The Gulf of Mexico oil spill wasn't that long ago...

LEDs save money by using less and lasting longer. Especially in warmer climates where AC has to remove the heat.
 
Kor said:
It may seem that way but it really isn't

xIsk9pp.jpg


One Hundred And Twenty Nine Billion Dollars... that's a lot of wasted dosh on top of all that pollution that comes from feeding the things.
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wrong, they been jacking up the price. there is no money saved in the long term.
 
ep0x73 said:
True and it's government subsidies [our money] being thrown on green tech that has just as many drawbacks as good old carbon based power.
Bat/bird chopping, frying and the vast land needed for such devices.

Only the rich can afford LED bulbs that range from $15-$30 a pop.
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5$ a pop at lowes all day long. Every light in my house inside and out is LED. Between that and a hot water heater timer I have shaved about 45 bucks a month off my power bill. That is basically free internet from the savings.
 
Ohh and BTW I couldn't care less about co2 or saving birds or whatever, I just care about my power bill. Plus I killed 4 roaches and 2 spiders and a mole cricket today take that environerds.!!!
 
Ur_Mom said:
I guess I buy the cheap ones. Costco, Home Depot, Lowes always have sales. I bought a 4 pack for $20. Going to buy a few more next week. Replacing all the lights with LED's, if I can. Prices have come down a lot, and when on sale, it's a lot less. Good savings, long life. They are worth it for me.
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There are so many variables that go into researching LED bulbs. Many produce terrible quality light. Low CRI, spikes within the color spectrum, etc..
And the whole "wattage equivalent" thing is useless. I've got bulbs that don't live up to the claim, and others that exceed it. You have to go by Lumens, and take beam angle into account, and most people don't get how that works (I didn't).

It took me quite a bit of research to find some bright ones that weren't "daylight" and didn't suck.

That isn't to say that $ = quality. There are good cheap bulbs and bad expensive bulbs.

I only replaced the bulbs in the lights I use the most. My power usage went down, but my bill still went up...go figure. :rolleyes:

For those like me with light sensitivity or migraineurs who can't use CFLs, LEDs do work well. Just do the research before buying.
 
I have a question for you LED light bulb owners. Do you any of guys usually notice the rapid blinking of LED christmas lights (AC 60 or 30hz) or do you guys notice the PWM flickering of LED car rear lights. If you are sensitive to these things, can you tell me whether your LED light bulbs have a similar flickering effect?
 
I can see the flickering from my DLP projector and the flickering of bad fluorescent lamps. But those are at relatively low frequency. The switching frequency of high power leds (though PWM is a horrible way to control led brightness) is well into the high 4-digit (and higher) frequencies. You shouldn't be able to detect it, unless something is wrong with the lamp.
 
serpretetsky said:
I have a question for you LED light bulb owners. Do you any of guys usually notice the rapid blinking of LED christmas lights (AC 60 or 30hz) or do you guys notice the PWM flickering of LED car rear lights. If you are sensitive to these things, can you tell me whether your LED light bulbs have a similar flickering effect?
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Haven't had any problems with it no.
 
serpretetsky said:
I have a question for you LED light bulb owners. Do you any of guys usually notice the rapid blinking of LED christmas lights (AC 60 or 30hz) or do you guys notice the PWM flickering of LED car rear lights. If you are sensitive to these things, can you tell me whether your LED light bulbs have a similar flickering effect?
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What I have noticed is certain models of bulbs flickering when the dimmer is at certain points, while others don't (not sure if it tends to be brand specific), but not flickering in general. Maybe it's something in the parts and/or construction.

That being said, different people have different sensitivities. This may or may not apply to you, but I include it for anyone who may suffer light sensitivities. Injury among other things can be a cause. People with head injury (myself included) quite often develop sensitivity to certain frequencies of light. Some people for whatever reason are just sensitive the Hz strobing common in fluorescent lighting. I can sense a CFL under a lamp shade. I have to wear sun glasses to filter out certain frequencies of light. They help with fluorescent lighting as well. I have a light and dark pair for indoors and outdoors respectively. Generally amber/copper/brown range are used, each having its own varying effectiveness. There's also a specialized color called FL-41. Polarized and photo chromatic lenses can also help.A good ophthalmologist can help a lot. Mine specializes in treating those with brain injury.
 
PhotoBobBarker said:
I can see the flickering from my DLP projector and the flickering of bad fluorescent lamps. But those are at relatively low frequency. The switching frequency of high power leds (though PWM is a horrible way to control led brightness) is well into the high 4-digit (and higher) frequencies. You shouldn't be able to detect it, unless something is wrong with the lamp.
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yeah, I wasn't as worried about PWM controlled LED's as I was that they would just let it flicker at 60hz AC (like a lot of christmas lights do, for example). Most PWM'd lights aren't that bad in my experience (although usually still noticeable). Thanks for the replies.
 
serpretetsky said:
I have a question for you LED light bulb owners. Do you any of guys usually notice the rapid blinking of LED christmas lights (AC 60 or 30hz) or do you guys notice the PWM flickering of LED car rear lights. If you are sensitive to these things, can you tell me whether your LED light bulbs have a similar flickering effect?
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With a light bulb that's strictly off/on no. With the ones in my living room that are on a dimmer, there are times when I see them flicker a bit, but then I adjust the dimmer a smidge and all is good.
 
There are so many variables that go into researching LED bulbs. Many produce terrible quality light. Low CRI, spikes within the color spectrum, etc..
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Haven't had that problem. I've purchased bulbs from Loews, Home Depot, online from China, and some guy in florida. I can read easily with the light from any of them.
I have a question for you LED light bulb owners. Do you any of guys usually notice the rapid blinking of LED christmas lights (AC 60 or 30hz) or do you guys notice the PWM flickering of LED car rear lights.
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Nope. No blinking noted.
You have to go by Lumens, and take beam angle into account, and most people don't get how that works
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Nope. I buy one and if I like it, buy more like it. I couldn't tell you how many lumens any of them give off; I went by the simple terms 'wattage equivelent' and 'cool or warm' light. I like warm. I replaced all my reflector bulbs in recessed lighting with 75 watt equivelent led bulbs, table lamps with 100 watt equivelents, etc.. EVerything is just as bright and warm as it was before. and my electricity bill is about 2/3 of what it was. Those bulbs have already paid for themselves.
Cost depends on where you buy them. B&M stores are the most expensive, online is cheapest, you can get dimmable 12 watt bulbs for $5 a piece, the non dimmable ones for less. Snipe the ebay auctions and you can get them for about half that once in a while.
 
The drop in electricity usage and pollution created has nothing on the future of LEDs as a source of light for closed loop food production. Scientists have devised ways of growing food in hydroponic systems that requires so little additional water addition that it is almost a complete closed loop. Once this is combined with grid scale LED lighting there will be a new revolution in food production. Vertical is the future of farming. Mega cities will be replacing skyscraper office buildings with vertical farming centers that can provide food to metropolises cutting down on the need to transport food vast distances. Not to mention that if these vertical farming methods combine the office with the farm in an office on the interior with a farm taking up the exterior of the building it can dramatically reduce the costs to heat and cool a building as well as purify the city air both inside and outside of the building. I think we will begin to see these types of buildings in the next 20 to 25 years.
 
serpretetsky said:
I have a question for you LED light bulb owners. Do you any of guys usually notice the rapid blinking of LED christmas lights (AC 60 or 30hz) or do you guys notice the PWM flickering of LED car rear lights. If you are sensitive to these things, can you tell me whether your LED light bulbs have a similar flickering effect?
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I am EXTREMELY sensitive to PWM flicker on crappy taillights. Further, I get headaches from looking at raw, unfiltered coherent LED light, especially red.

But my Cree LED bulbs are not made by the same incompetent fools who make flickery tail lamps or every new electronic device featuring as many raw blue/red LEDs as possible.

They do not flicker, do not give me headaches, have omnidirectional light, actually have the lumens to stand up to their "X watt replacement" claims, and the TW series are indistinguishable from Incandescent terms of light quality. The normal soft white bulbs (good enough spectrum for lamps with shades) are under 10 bucks, and the TW (widest spectrum for more direct lighting) can be had for 15, so my wallet is also happy :D
 
mynamehere said:
There are so many variables that go into researching LED bulbs. Many produce terrible quality light. Low CRI, spikes within the color spectrum, etc..

For those like me with light sensitivity or migraineurs who can't use CFLs, LEDs do work well. Just do the research before buying.
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I learned about that stuff by a Lowes display. They had several models and showed what difference there was between them given the various ratings.... Some prefer the yellowish tone, others the natural white....

I only had light sensitivity after LASIK. CFL's and other fluorescent lighting makes things fuzzy. LED is fine. Incandescent is fine. I had CFL's only in my house until after my eyes got 'fixed'. Then, it was a race to get them replaced. Only have a few CFL's left.

Work monitor was a fluorescent style, but they switched it with a newer LCD backlit one. My boss had LASIK several years ago and had the same issue for about a year after.
 
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