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#1 2005-04-15 09:49:32

Palomar
Member
From: USA
Registered: 2002-05-30
Posts: 9,734

Re: LED to Replace Lightbulbs?

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u … hting]Cool

*Rather new concepts here, so will copy and paste a bit:

Current white LEDs will last up to 50,000 hours, about 50 times as long as a 60-watt bulb. That's almost six years if they're on constantly.

Amazing.

The feature of LEDs likely to propel them into homes is aesthetic, not practical. Arrays that mix red, green and blue LEDs can produce any color of the rainbow. Instead of a dimmer, you might have three sliding knobs that let you mix color.

"On a very hot day you might want blue light to cool it down a bit, or on a winter day you may want to simulate sunlight,"

Sign me up!  smile  But hold on...

A system like that would be too expensive for most homes, but industry experts believe the price will come down in a few years as the technology develops.

I'll wait.  wink

Neon lighting is a leading cause of fires at restaurants and the signs are vulnerable to vandalism. By contrast, LED signs made of Plexiglas are tough. At the trade show, iLight exhibited an LED sign that still worked after taking a blast from a shotgun.

--Cindy


We all know [i]those[/i] Venusians: Doing their hair in shock waves, smoking electrical coronas, wearing Van Allen belts and resting their tiny elbows on a Geiger counter...

--John Sladek (The New Apocrypha)

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#2 2005-04-15 09:56:45

BWhite
Member
From: Chicago, Illinois
Registered: 2004-06-16
Posts: 2,635

Re: LED to Replace Lightbulbs?

Several years ago, in one of my Mars stories, I used this exact technique to give settlers a sense of control over their environment.

The feature of LEDs likely to propel them into homes is aesthetic, not practical. Arrays that mix red, green and blue LEDs can produce any color of the rainbow. Instead of a dimmer, you might have three sliding knobs that let you mix color.

"On a very hot day you might want blue light to cool it down a bit, or on a winter day you may want to simulate sunlight," said Steve Landau of Lumileds Lighting, an LED-making joint venture of Agilent Technologies Inc. and Philips Lighting.

I did not foresee the three sliding knob idea. Simple and efficient. Cool!

= = =

Many years ago my wife and I replaced a flourescent bathroom light fixture with incandescent. We were astonished when the ceramic wall tile suddenly changed color.

Living on Mars will be very constraining, psychologically. Being able to "re-decorate" your personal living space simply by adjusting the colors of your lighting will impart a sense of control which I believe will be emotioanlly healthy.


Give someone a sufficient [b][i]why[/i][/b] and they can endure just about any [b][i]how[/i][/b]

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#3 2005-04-15 10:24:52

SpaceNut
Administrator
From: New Hampshire
Registered: 2004-07-22
Posts: 29,017

Re: LED to Replace Lightbulbs?

In addition to having work with LED's for years as indicator the products apps have started using the high intensity ones for night time lighting.

Many years ago the typical signal lights as well started desinging with leds as energy saving was the strategy of the times as electric bills were on the rise.

One of the more recent lighting items that I have come across is what is a luminesent tape. It sort of works like the florescent light but is very energy effiecent much like the LED.

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#4 2005-04-15 16:40:18

Grypd
Member
From: Scotland, Europe
Registered: 2004-06-07
Posts: 1,879

Re: LED to Replace Lightbulbs?

LEDs are one wonderous use of diodes, I used to have a normal handtorch with me when I went walking. But recently I made myself a torch with white leds which apart from giving the same light, used less power and lasted longer. It also has the ability to use hand cranked power to keep the beam running which is always a good in an emergency.

I have used the principle that I learned so to make caving torches that could well never run out of energy as long as the person could move.


Chan eil mi aig a bheil ùidh ann an gleidheadh an status quo; Tha mi airson cur às e.

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#5 2005-04-15 16:59:53

GCNRevenger
Member
From: Earth
Registered: 2003-10-14
Posts: 6,056

Re: LED to Replace Lightbulbs?

Nah, IR-spectrum solar cells built into your coat/climbing jacket powerd by body heat. As long as you keep ticking, so will the LED.


[i]"The power of accurate observation is often called cynicism by those that do not have it." - George Bernard Shaw[/i]

[i]The glass is at 50% of capacity[/i]

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#6 2005-04-17 07:37:40

Palomar
Member
From: USA
Registered: 2002-05-30
Posts: 9,734

Re: LED to Replace Lightbulbs?

Living on Mars will be very constraining, psychologically. Being able to "re-decorate" your personal living space simply by adjusting the colors of your lighting will impart a sense of control which I believe will be emotioanlly healthy.

*I totally agree.  Will be great for folks who suffer from seasonal affective disorder or (on Mars) something akin to it.

Heck, they could probably even make the LED pulse and "flash" a bit too?  Set an entire wall or room outfitted with LED display on "Party" and you won't need a mirrored ball.  :laugh:

The possibilities will probably be endless.

--Cindy


We all know [i]those[/i] Venusians: Doing their hair in shock waves, smoking electrical coronas, wearing Van Allen belts and resting their tiny elbows on a Geiger counter...

--John Sladek (The New Apocrypha)

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#7 2005-04-17 09:17:19

Grypd
Member
From: Scotland, Europe
Registered: 2004-06-07
Posts: 1,879

Re: LED to Replace Lightbulbs?

SAD can already be helped by the use of special lights. These provide light that is very similar to what a person would recieve from the sun. Obviously they need careful care when used but this does not stop there benefits.

And they are not that expensive.


Chan eil mi aig a bheil ùidh ann an gleidheadh an status quo; Tha mi airson cur às e.

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#8 2005-04-17 18:21:09

BWhite
Member
From: Chicago, Illinois
Registered: 2004-06-16
Posts: 2,635

Re: LED to Replace Lightbulbs?

Living on Mars will be very constraining, psychologically. Being able to "re-decorate" your personal living space simply by adjusting the colors of your lighting will impart a sense of control which I believe will be emotioanlly healthy.

*I totally agree.  Will be great for folks who suffer from seasonal affective disorder or (on Mars) something akin to it.

Heck, they could probably even make the LED pulse and "flash" a bit too?  Set an entire wall or room outfitted with LED display on "Party" and you won't need a mirrored ball.  :laugh:

The possibilities will probably be endless.

--Cindy

Why wait for Mars? http://www.blacklight.com/items/led05r]Buy now.

Ravn]http://www.photonlight.com/ravn/index.html]Rav'n party light.

I need to go find that classic Nintendo quote. Here it is!

"It is ridiculous to claim that video games influence children. If Pac-Man affected kids born in the eighties, we should now have a bunch of teenagers who run around in darkened rooms and eat pills while listening to monotonous electronic music." - Kristian Wilson, Nintendo Inc., 1989

Can you say Rave!  cool



Edited By BWhite on 1113784043


Give someone a sufficient [b][i]why[/i][/b] and they can endure just about any [b][i]how[/i][/b]

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