The driving forces behind the creation of the Light-Emitting
Diode were rewarded for their vision and revolutionary work. The Nobel Prize in
Physics 2014 © The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences was awarded jointly
to Isamu Akasaki, Hiroshi Amano and Shuji Nakamura "for the invention of
efficient blue light-emitting diodes which has enabled bright and energy-saving
white light sources".
The press
release from the Nobel Foundation (http:www.nobelprize.org) said it all,
"This year’s Nobel Laureates are rewarded for having
invented a new energy-efficient and environment-friendly light source – the
blue light-emitting diode (LED). In the spirit of Alfred Nobel the Prize
rewards an invention of greatest benefit to mankind; using blue LEDs, white
light can be created in a new way. With the advent of LED lamps we now have
more long-lasting and more efficient alternatives to older light sources.
When Isamu Akasaki, Hiroshi Amano and Shuji Nakamura produced
bright blue light beams from their semi-conductors in the early 1990s, they
triggered a fundamental transformation of lighting technology. Red and green
diodes had been around for a long time but without blue light, white lamps
could not be created. Despite considerable efforts, both in the scientific
community and in industry, the blue LED had remained a challenge for three
decades.
They succeeded where everyone else had failed. Akasaki worked
together with Amano at the University of Nagoya, while Nakamura was employed at
Nichia Chemicals, a small company in Tokushima. Their inventions were
revolutionary. Incandescent light bulbs lit the 20th century; the 21st century
will be lit by LED lamps.
White LED lamps emit a bright white light, are long-lasting
and energy-efficient. They are constantly improved, getting more efficient with
higher luminous flux (measured in lumen) per unit electrical input power
(measured in watt). The most recent record is just over 300 lm/W, which can be
compared to 16 for regular light bulbs and close to 70 for fluorescent lamps.
As about one fourth of world electricity consumption is used for lighting
purposes, the LEDs contribute to saving the Earth’s resources. Materials
consumption is also diminished as LEDs last up to 100,000 hours, compared to
1,000 for incandescent bulbs and 10,000 hours for fluorescent lights.
The LED lamp holds great promise for increasing the quality
of life for over 1.5 billion people around the world who lack access to
electricity grids: due to low power requirements it can be powered by cheap
local solar power."
Not many people know that the LED Blue Light was founded in
our backyard after much work and effort. The Nobel awarding committee said the
trio's work is in keeping with the spirit of Alfred Nobel, the founder of the
prize, because LED lights save on energy, last long and are
environmentally-friendly because they don't contain mercury.
It is such a thrill that the invention of the blue LED is
just twenty years old, but since has already contributed to create white light
in an entirely new manner to the benefit each and every one of us.
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