Turkish researchers challenge Edison’s light bulb

White LEDs have attracted both scientific attention and commercial interest world-wide as one of the next great solid-state frontiers, with their potential wide-scale use in architectural lighting and the automotive industry. Unlike prior approaches, the Demir Devices and Sensors Lab generated white light with tunable color properties using multiple combinations of nanocyrstals, each of which features a narrow emission spectrum widely tunable across the visible spectrum. These light sources hold great promise for future lighting and display applications. Researchers say the invention also provides an alternative solution to contribution of regular light sources to global warming.

Demir and his team, including Sedat Nizamoğlu, Tuncay Özel and Emre Sarı, were on the cover of the Feb. 14 issue of the prestigious journal Nanotechnology. Speaking about the potential white LEDs have, Demir said "LEDs will replace the bulbs and fluorescent lamps we use in our homes. While the bulb invented by Edison converts heat to light, nanotechnologically manufactured LEDs convert electric energy to light directly. The invention will revolutionize the inside of our homes as well as lighting functions in the automotive industry. White LEDs are expected to carry out all the lighting functions of automobiles in the next five years."

In addition to the wonders white LEDs work in energy conservation -- they consume about one-tenth of the electric energy used by the regular bulb -- the LEDs beat the traditional bulb in their duration as well. "You can use a LED for 12 hours everyday for 23 years without any interruption," Demir explained, elaborating, "This means that you would have to change your light source only four times during your lifetime." Global energy consumption may be cut by as much as 50 percent through LED technology.