LED Light Bulbs: An Accidental Discovery?
Oct 9, 2020
Last Updated
October 9, 2020 at 11:10:06 p.m.
How the quest to make a semiconductor laser led to better lighting that is more efficient, cost-effective and friendly to the environment.
Next to the sun, modern light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are one of the best sources of super-bright illuminating light.
But did you know that the first LED was invisible? Created by Robert Biard and Gary Pittman in 1961, this infra-red LED did not have any real practical use.
Not long after this discovery, the first visible LED was created in 1962. An interesting twist to the story, however, was that the scientist - Nick Holonyak Jr. - wasn’t trying to create a light bulb. His mission was to create a laser that was visible to the human eye.
Despite his accidental invention, Holonyak’s instincts led him to believe that these small yet efficient sources of light could replace incandescent bulbs. The first tiny LED bulb was finally created by M. George Craford - a student of Holonyak - while working at the Monsanto company.
LEDs have taken a remarkable journey since then, starting as little indicator lights on electrical equipment and circuit boards in the 1960s, and then morphing into lights on digital watches during the 1970s. They were then used as traffic lights in the 1980s and have been expanding ever since for use in massive spaces like warehouses and stadiums.
LED History: 1960s - Today
1980s: Further innovations resulted in the creation of first-generation super-bright red, yellow, and green LEDs that were used for traffic lights.
