Accidental Invention Points to End of Light Bulbs

LiveScience ^ | 10/20/15 | Bjorn Carey

[ZGuy]

Oops. Looks like I typed the date in using the metric system again.

[kjo]

Do the home office types at GE's NELA Park know about this? How long before they buy somebody off?

[muawiyah]

"Light'em if ya' got 'em" ~ "Light'em up" ~ "Turn on the lights"

[Wonder Warthog]

Exactly what is supposed to be "new" here?? "White" LEDs (actually blue semiconductor LEDs with added phosphor) have been around for quite a while now. Is it the magic buzz-word "nano-", or perhaps "quantum dot"??

All these guys appear to have done is come up with a different formula for the phosphor mix---why is it so much better????

[Moonman62]

Fluorescents are still the most efficient lighting. LED's keep getting more powerful, but not much more efficient, and color tint control seems to be a problem. I hope this new discovery improves that.

[HiJinx]

One big question remains: When a brilliant idea pops into your mind in the future, what will appear over your head?

[Betty Jane]

A stupid question from someone with no technology aptitude. How does one turn the light off, particularly on the silverware example?

[oh8eleven]

How does one turn the light off, particularly on the silverware example?
You plunge it into a medium-rare steak!

[USS Alaska]

Close your eyes?

[keats5]

Swallow the fork?

[muawiyah]

Hmmmm? Good one!

One presumes the power source is your hand, so the fork will be on if and only if you are holding it. Otherwise, when you put it down, it will disappear into a totally dark miasma unless, of course, someone has turned on the table, possibly by rubbing it's legs.

[CommandoFrank]

Brilliant... absolutely brilliant!

[ccmay]

Hope he got the patent squared away.

-ccm

[MamaTexan]

Close the drawer?

LOL!

Who the heck would want lighted silverware, anyway?

Other than adding a new dimension for kids who enjoy playing 'train wreck' at the dinner-table, it seems pretty pointless to me. :)

[geezerwheezer]

This is really far out there, and sounds super exciting to me. I think this is very cutting-edge type stuff, and will be a commercial success shortly. What a neat discovery!

[Willie Green]

A stupid question from someone with no technology aptitude. How does one turn the light off, particularly on the silverware example?

It's not a stupid question, Betty.
The silverware example is simply a stupid example.
These LEDs will still have to be connected to some kind of power source (battery or AC wiring), and will be turned on/off by some kind of switch. I think the author is just using weird examples to show how this material might also be used as part of things other than something that looks like a lamp or lightbulb. But whatever it is, it'll still have to have some kind of power source and switch.

[Radioactive]

I was reading where quantum dots could be powered by the human body....tapping into the electrical charge we all have.

No more turning on the lights at night to go to the bathroom...put those things at the end of your johnson and just go baby go!!!!!....talk about the Illuminate.......

[Halfmanhalfamazing]

I've got LED lights in my house.

They were mad expensive but I feel it was worth it. I don't mind taking the hit for being an early adopter.

The only place I've got regular bulbs is two on the outside(front and side of the house) and one in the fridge.

http://www.superbrightleds.com is where I got them from.

[Betty Jane]

Thanks for the laughs guys. There seem to be problems with each of your solutions. For instance, after closing the drawer, the service for twelve will emit an eery light and my psycho neighbor will probably come over to worship his alien leader.

Swallowing the fork would probably upset my husband. Now not only will I be the typical shrew wife asking why he was so late, I will also have the ability to blind him every time I shout at him.

Rubbing the table leg might get me put in a special place with soft walls or listed in some sex offender registry.

Plunging my fork into a steak? It sounds reasonable, until one realizes that a bit of food will have to always stay on said fork. That seems a bit unsanitary.