Isla Earth Radio

What do you get when you cross folk art with photonic technology? A very bright idea. Researchers at the University of Glasgow have combined cell phone displays and the craft of punched tin to create a new light bulb that could hit living rooms within three years. LEDs, or "light-emitting diodes" are the lights behind computer screens and cell phones: small, energy efficient -- but weak. That's due to their structure and material, which trap light the way thick lampshades darken a room. It's that analogy that got the researchers thinking. Taking a cue from the decorative art form of punched tin lanterns, they made more light escape from LEDs by, literally, poking them full of holes! Using a 21st Century version of lithograph printing they stamped billions of molecule-sized openings onto LED surfaces -- increasing brightness without increasing energy consumption. A low cost technique that can be mass-produced. It could mean a greener, brighter bulb on the market in the future. L