Light Emitting Diode The light bulb has been seen as one of the best inventions of all time, it has allowed humans to be able to accomplish many tasks that were thought as not possible, if the only light source was natural. As time went on the light bulb usage has greatly expanded not just for the basic use of lighting, being used for everything from relaying information to safely navigating an aircraft. Just like most other great inventions throughout time there is something cleaner, more efficient, and cheaper one, that is where the LED comes in. The concept of the incandescent bulb was being experimented in 1800’s, by heating the filament and exciting the atoms that are in the surrounding gas in the glass container and creating light as the electrons change energy levels. This design has worked for a long time, but the light this created from the incandescent bulb is not very efficient with the great amount of energy that is wasted in the form of heat instead of light, and once the thin filament breaks the bulb is shot. While this has worked over a long period of time and there are more efficient incandescent bulbs it does not match the LED.
The LED is able to produce the same light effects with a simpler and cleaner design. Using a semiconductor, when a current is run through the semiconductor it excites the electrons and when the atoms change energy levels they produce light. It is a compact for efficient way of lighting, LED’s don’t have to use gas for the lighting so the glass casing is unnecessary making LEDs much more durable the standard blubs. With the semiconductor creating the light there is no more need to worry about the filament breaking so it is has a much longer life span.
Many LEDs were first used on many electronic devices not for lighting a complete area but more for relaying information to the user for example a DVD player to show that the system is off. The use for LEDs has grown exponentially, now they are being used to replace all different types of lighting, on cars, LED televisions, even replacing interior lighting. With the switch over to LED lighting is a great advancement for technology, getting rid of the older blubs and switching to LED’s will save a lot of money not having to replace the blubs so often and saving energy because they mostly produce light instead of heat. With the energy that is being saved with this newer technology it will also be much better for the environment, this could help the strong dependency for fossil fuels.
In conclusion, the LED is a great replacement for the invention that many people think is the best invention of all time. Just like most technology there is something better, the LED is a positive step forward to more efficient and cleaner earth. In the meantime it would be a smart decision to make the change to the new technology, until there is a even better more efficient source of light that is discovered.