History of Light - A Brief Overview
The History of man-made light is based on heat.
Wax, Oill and Gas burn to produce light. The filament in an incandescent bulb heats up to produce light. Gas in a fluorescent tube is zapped to illuminate.
The basic method has been " Heat it up and it glows"
For more than 120 Years, incandescent light bulbs have brightened and warmed our lives. Electric powered bulbs were a major improvement over candle, gas and oil light sources - but they are extremely ineffecient. Up to 90% of the power going into the bulb is converted to heat!
Compact Flourescent Bulbs are more efficient and are an excellent alternative for Edison-Socket light fixtures, however, they contain a small amount of mercury making them hazardous waste when they break or burn out.
In the past 12 months a new light source has emerged that is sufficiently bright and efficient to be used for general illumination.
The Light Emitting Diode aka the LED uses far less energy and lasts many times longer than all bulbs and contains no lead or mercury. The first commercially viable LED was introduced in 2006 and now lighting manufacturers around the world are producing a whole new class of LED products for general illumination.
Wax, Oill and Gas burn to produce light. The filament in an incandescent bulb heats up to produce light. Gas in a fluorescent tube is zapped to illuminate.
The basic method has been " Heat it up and it glows"
For more than 120 Years, incandescent light bulbs have brightened and warmed our lives. Electric powered bulbs were a major improvement over candle, gas and oil light sources - but they are extremely ineffecient. Up to 90% of the power going into the bulb is converted to heat!
Compact Flourescent Bulbs are more efficient and are an excellent alternative for Edison-Socket light fixtures, however, they contain a small amount of mercury making them hazardous waste when they break or burn out.
In the past 12 months a new light source has emerged that is sufficiently bright and efficient to be used for general illumination.
The Light Emitting Diode aka the LED uses far less energy and lasts many times longer than all bulbs and contains no lead or mercury. The first commercially viable LED was introduced in 2006 and now lighting manufacturers around the world are producing a whole new class of LED products for general illumination.
