LED

With incandescent light bulbs in the process of being phased out around the world, LEDs are one of the most promising technologies for taking over our day-to-day lighting needs – they use less energy, provide more light, contain less toxic substances, and are tougher than incandescents. That said, they may not be the one and only best choice. Lasers are even more efficient than LEDs at high amperages, although scientists have long believed that the quality of white light produced by diode lasers would be unpleasing to the human eye. According to a study recently carried out by Sandia National Laboratories, however, the human eye appears to like their light just fine. Read More

The arrival of high-intensity LEDs has certainly made a huge difference to the brightness of bicycle headlights. Some people, however, are now looking at using the bulbs not just as a means of lighting the cyclist’s way, but of making their bicycles more visible to motorists. A couple of examples include the Aura and Revolights systems, both of which incorporate LEDs into a bike’s wheel rims. Another system, that looks like it might be considerably less involved yet still effective, is called LED by LITE. Read More

Homer Simpson's advice when his brother Herb shows him the baby translator he has invented is that Herb "should have just taken an existing product and put a clock in it or something." These days the "or something" could easily be a light or, more specifically, an LED as their tiny size, low cost and low power needs has seen them wedged inside a plethora of devices ... and not because it necessarily provides any real benefit. However, in the world of LED-embedded devices, this wrench set is far from the worst idea we've seen and could actually come in very handy. Read More

Dutch company LEDSSPORTS looks set to solve one the major problems associated with the plethora of sports played on multi-purpose courts – LED court markings that can be turned on and off depending on the sport being played. Instead of the myriad lines on multisport surfaces which often confuse players, LEDSSPORT's Pulastic ® LED Court illuminates just one set of markings at a time, while the others stay “invisible”. The company also makes a range of other LED sports-related innovations, including a set of lights which function as a basketball shot clock. Read More

The future of ambient lighting might lay in glowing walls, according to Philips. The company has announced its plans to develop wallpapers containing integrated LEDs. The luminous sound-absorbing textiles would glow in variety of colors accordingly to the user's requirements. To develop the luminous wallpaper panels, Philips is collaborating with customizable acoustic panels manufacturer Kvadrat Soft Cells, based in Denmark. Read More

Currently the brightest options for those looking to ditch their incandescent light bulbs in favor of the longer life and more energy efficient LED variety are those equivalent to 60 watt incandescent bulbs, such as the GeoBulb II. Things got a little brighter last month when California-based Switch Lighting announced its 75 watt-equivalent LED bulb and now the company has gone one better with the announcement of what it claims is the world's first 100 watt-equivalent LED bulb. Read More

Organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) are a technology that shows great promise, as they are thinner, lighter, and less expensive to manufacture than their non-organic LED counterparts. Despite their name, however, they are not fully organic, as small amounts of precious metals are required to make them glow. A completely organic and even cheaper alternative could be on its way, though ... researchers from the University of Michigan have created metal-free organic crystals that shine with phosphorescence – until now, only non- or semi-organic compounds have displayed this property. Read More

LED light bulbs are becoming increasingly popular with designers and consumers of green technology, as they use less electricity, last longer, and emit more light on a pound-for-pound basis than traditional incandescent bulbs. However, while it may be tempting to look at them as having solved the problem of environmentally-unfriendly lighting, researchers from the University of California would advise against such thinking. Read More

If you want to wake up gently to a sunrise, there are a couple of things you can do. You can invest in one of the many digital alarm clocks that start a simulated sunrise (like PURE's Twilight or Philip's Wake-up Light) or you can leave your curtains open and wait for the sun to shine through them. Taylor Franklin Hide believes that he might have a third option in the form of the LUMI – a high-tech sleeping mask with faux sunrise technology built-in. Read More