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Three scientists
won
the Nobel Prize in Physics this week for an invention that revolutionized lighting and paved the way for energy-efficient white lights.
Isamu Akasaki, Hiroshi Amano and Shuji Nakamura won the prize for developing blue light-emitting diodes, commonly called LEDs, in the early 1990s. The blue LED plays a crucial role in the recreation of white light, which is formed from a mixture of red, green and blue light.
Researchers had previously developed the ability to create red and green light, but lacked blue light, leaving a gap of spectral silence in the color spectrum and preventing scientists from recreating white light. But with the invention of the blue LED, scientists were able to recreate white light and artificially mimic natural lighting for the first time.
The blue LED brought white light to consumer electronics and manufacturing. The technology commonly appears in computers, smartphones and homes. The U.S. Department of Energy has predicted that LEDs will comprise 74 percent of U.S. lighting sales by 2030.
LEDs reduce the earth’s energy consumption, a quarter of which currently goes to creating light, according to NewsHour correspondent Miles O’Brien. LEDs use energy much more efficiently than other types of light bulbs and last approximately 30 times longer than the widely-used incandescent bulb.
LEDs are important for global development, according to a release from the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, who awarded the prize.
“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,” the release
said
.
Ultraviolet LEDs can also help sterilize water by destroying toxic bacteria.
Warm up questions
- What electronic devices do you own? How would your life be different without them?
- What is the difference between natural light and artificial light?
- What is the difference between an incandescent light bulb and a LED energy efficient light bulb?
Critical thinking questions
- Why is access to lighting important for the developing world?
- Alfred Nobel created the Nobel Prize to award those who "have conferred the greatest benefit to mankind." How should judges determine which scientific developments have achieved this goal?
