http://tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051118/NEWS01/511180428Vanderbilt chemists have discovered a way to create white light with extremely tiny crystals. They say those "nanocrystals" could be used with light-emitting diodes, or LEDs, the devices often used to illuminate your alarm clock's digital display, your cell phone or your car's brake lights with what's known as solid-state lighting.
LEDs use electricity much more efficiently than fluorescent light bulbs because they use it simply for light, while light bulbs also spend a great deal of it on heat, said Sandra Rosenthal, an associate professor of chemistry at Vanderbilt. So if the white-light LEDs could be mass-produced at a reasonable cost, they could revolutionize the way indoor lighting is produced.
While a national switch to solid-state lighting could save tens of billions of dollars a year by 2025, according to the U.S. Department of Energy, the impact on the environment would be at least as significant, Rosenthal said.
"Saving money is one thing, but if we cut down on electricity use, we'll cut down on greenhouse gases," she said. "We're not promising to solve global warming, but we're cautiously optimistic."
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