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user posted image rThe main light source of the future will almost surely not be a bulb. It might be a table, a wall, or even a fork.An accidental discovery announced this week has taken LED lighting to a new level, suggesting it could soon offer a cheaper, longer-lasting alternative to the traditional light bulb. The miniature breakthrough adds to a growing trend that is likely to eventually make Thomas Edison's bright invention obsolete.LEDs are already used in traffic lights, flashlights, and architectural lighting. They are flexible and operate less expensively than traditional lighting.Michael Bowers, a graduate student at Vanderbilt University, was just trying to make really small quantum dots, which are crystals generally only a few nanometers big. That's less than 1/1000th the width of a human hair.Quantum dots contain anywhere from 100 to 1,000 electrons. They're easily excited bundles of energy, and the smaller they are, the more excited they get.

Each dot in Bower's particular batch was exceptionally small, containing only 33 or 34 pairs of atoms. When you shine a light on quantum dots or apply electricity to them, they react by producing their own light, normally a bright, vibrant color. But when Bowers shined a laser on his batch of dots, something unexpected happened. "I was surprised when a white glow covered the table," Bowers said. "The quantum dots were supposed to emit blue light, but instead they were giving off a beautiful white glow."Then Bowers and another student got the idea to stir the dots into polyurethane and coat a blue LED light bulb with the mix. The lumpy bulb wasn't pretty, but it produced white light similar to a regular light bulb.

user posted image View: Full Article | Source: Live Science
Uversa
is it me or is there a face in that light bulb pic???



ITS JESUS!!!
Mr Ed
Maybe it is meant to be Thomas Edison.
a_blue_fish
I see the face too. o.O Odd-ness. I can't wait until we don't have to use light bulbs. I'm quite sick of replacing them every other day.
sirec
QUOTE(Mr Ed @ Oct 23 2005, 11:33 AM) [snapback]899387[/snapback]

Maybe it is meant to be Thomas Edison.



looks like hitler to me blink.gif

it looks like him on some of these portraits

http://www.calvin.edu/academic/cas/gpa/ah-art.htm


replacing light bulbs is his version of revenge on us for losing the war, he knows its teh no1 things required in daily life thumbup.gif ah well he will be pissed when the time comes when the led's take over grin2.gif
Claizen
Yah it does look like Hitler.. But anyways, the bulb is going to be cheap, but the lazer that lights it up?? How much is that gonna cost? Oh yeah, running an electric current through it, are like Flourecent Lightbulbs.
ROGER
As with all new discovery's , it will take time to filter a new product down to the common mans market. But I see this lighting source may be being used in space craft and city lighting first.
Cyrus
I didn't noticed any face until Uversa mentioned that. I think that what you expect to see, you will see, except when you accidentally see something similar to something (like this "face"-like shape within the bulb) original.gif
rane
alien.gif well now that we can mold the sixth dimension easily, we can make light come from objects without even seeing it glow, or whatever i am trying to say...ugh, the light would be coexistant with us, but we wouldn't have to worry about tuirning on anything ever again, something like that

blush.gif
Yelekiah
No guys, that's definitely Jesus.

Cool how this discovery is accidental.
Celumnaz
spray EVERYTHING with that stuff lol

clothes... paint your house with it... pop in a tiny battery an light up the city!
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