LED lights are pretty common knowledge in today’s society. With a lot of companies catering to less plastic packaging and more environmentally friendly practices, being green is a huge selling point for a lot of companies. LED lights fall into that category perfectly, as the average consumer knows LEDs for how much energy they save per bulb compared to typical light bulbs.
But what exactly makes LED lights function the way they do? How do LED lights work? How can they save energy while also being brighter than the traditional lights that we’ve come to know?
The Definition of LED Lights
To understand how LED lights work, we first need to talk about what LED lights actually are and what the acronym stands for. LED lights stand for “light emitting diode.” A diode is a component used mostly in circuits and electronics, but specifically controls the direction of a current in a circuit. In plain terms, a diode can discourage current in one direction but encourage it in the opposite direction.
If you’re at all familiar with how light bulbs work, that’s exactly how the modern light bulb works. Electricity flows through a thin wire called the filament, which then heats up the filament until it lights up. In comparison to LED lights, “incandescent bulbs” are a lot less efficient than LED lights. Regular bulbs use an electrical current to heat up, while LED lights use light-emitting diodes.
The History Behind LED Lights
With this discovery, LED technology has assisted the scientific community in more ways than one. Before its invention, lights could only emit one size wavelength of light. Though it sounds simple, having more than one size would increase the efficiency greatly. LED lights have paved the way for lasers and fiber optics by giving them the ability to transfer information across a cable.
With LED’s invention, different kinds of information can be communicated almost simultaneously. It’s similar to that of the Internet; without it, people from across the globe wouldn’t be able to openly communicate at the tips of their fingers so effortlessly.
Still, the very same technology behind LED lights are behind the reason that fiber optic connections today are so fast when you look at a simple cable connection. And if the discovery of the LED light could influence such a wide range of information in other places, then many different types of discoveries can occur from information we already know today.
Uses for LED Lights
There are many uses for LED lights, just as there are many uses for regular, incandescent bulbs. This is mostly because LED lights have become very popularized in today’s societies. Several years ago, around the time when they were first invented in the 1960s, LED light was considered expensive and only used in lab settings or for equipment.
Today, they’re considered a better and actually cost-effective when compared to regular bulbs. Anywhere a light bulb can be used, for the most part, an LED light bulb can also be used. There are some instances where they can’t be used, such as enclosed fixtures that can rapidly overheat the bulb.
All in all, LED lights are considered one of modern society’s most important inventions. As more and more households integrate their bulbs, more and more different kinds of LED lights will become available and offer different features.
But before that happens, it’s important to know how LED lights work on the foundation that we have currently. Knowing how they work supplies consumers with the knowledge of why they’re advertised as “better” than the average incandescent bulb, and why they’re so efficient and reliable.