Imagery from outer space makes it abundantly clear just how many light bulbs are shining in the world every night. If we want to spare the environment and reduce the amount of power these lighting systems consume (while lowering energy costs), creating more efficient light bulbs is a must. Currently, commercial LEDS work at an efficiency rate of 50 percent, but that number could balloon to around 90 percent very soon thanks to engineers at Penn State. Inspired by the light-emitting firefly, the engineers have developed a new type of LED light bulb that has microstructures that mimic the firefly. This allows the LED to reflect light that tends to get lost in conventional LEDs, nearly doubling the efficiency of the light bulb. Once commercialized, these firefly-inspired LEDs could save the world massive amounts of electricity.
These firefly-inspired LEDs are nearly twice as efficient as conventional ones
More of Today's Solutions
Your allergies aren’t getting worse with age. The pollen season is.
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM If your spring allergies feel worse than they did five years ago, there is a reason for that, ...
Read MoreWhat governments and households are being asked to do in the oil crisis
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM The International Energy Agency has already done something it has never done before: ordered the largest release of ...
Read MoreCooking tip: How to remove toxins from rice but keep the nutrients
Rice is nice, but the problem with this widely-consumed food is that it’s very high in arsenic compared to most other foods. In fact, ...
Read MoreFormerly homeless guides offer unique experiences of iconic cities
In cities across the world, the streets tell stories—stories of triumph over adversity, resilience, and transformation. Invisible Cities, a breakthrough organization, transforms these stories ...
Read More
