1. What Are LED's?
Light Emitting Diodes are generally used in chips or circuits and emit light rays when a forward voltage is passed through it. Two semiconducting materials combine, sending out photons at wavelengths according to the element's electron energy involved. Different semiconducting materials inside the LED produce photons at different wavelengths of light, ranging from near-ultraviolet, to visible, and to infrared. Because LED's are considered as a solid state light source, it is firm, light, small, and can have a service life of over 10 years. They are mainly for indication and illumination uses including traffic lights, billboards, city scenery illuminations, flashlights, headlamps, indicators, Christmas decorative lighting, etc. Some examples include low intensity blinking LED's as indicators in home applicanes and high intensity LED's in newer flashlights to illuminate an area.

2. Advantages of LED's
LED's have an average lifetime of 80,000 to 100,000 hours (9 to 11 years) making them very practical to use in everyday lighting. Due to their solid state characteristics, LED's virtually emit no heat when being powered. When compared to the average incandescent light bulb, LED's:

• have a lower initial cost
• use 80% less electricity to power
• give off much less heat
• last 100 times longer
• has a more concentrated light beam

Moreover, LED's are shock resistant, pressure resistant, and resilient against accidental drops during installation or transportation.

LED's are also very versatile in that they can be customized to emit different even colors of light in different angles, from 20 degrees up to 160 degrees. When LED's do eventually fail, they do so by dimming over time, and unlike fluorescent light bulbs, LED's are environmentally friendly when it comes to disposal; they do not pollute the earth with harmful chemicals or toxic substances.

 

 

3. Application of LED's
We see LED lighting everyday. Whether it is the traffic lights on the way to work, or the remote control for your television, LED's are lighting up everywhere in today's modern world. Below is a list of applications that LED's have been used in:

 

 

• Traffic light and railroad crossing signals
• Flashlights
• Remote controls
• Optical computer mouse movement sensor
• Automotive rear light clusters
• LCD television and display backlighting
• Structural lighting
• Indicator lighting on various devices and equipments
• Message and destination displays seen in transportation vehicles and stations

As one can see, LED's are already in the process of being implemented into everyday life. In the future, we can expect LED's to advance further and become replacements for conventional lighting methods, saving energy and space.