Plastic bulb development promises better quality light
US researchers say they have developed a new type of lighting that could replace fluorescent bulbs.
The new source is made from layers of plastic and is said to
be more efficient while producing a better quality of flicker-free
light.The scientists behind it say they believe the first units will be produced in 2013.
Details of the new development have been published in the journal Organic Electronics.
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Brighter white
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Prof David Carroll Wake Forest UniversityWhat we've found is a way of creating light rather than heat”
The new light source is called
field-induced polymer electroluminescent (Fipel) technology. It is made
from three layers of white-emitting polymer that contain a small volume
of nanomaterials that glow when electric current is passed through them.
The inventor of the device is Dr David Carroll, professor of
physics at Wake Forest University in North Carolina. He says the new
plastic lighting source can be made into any shape, and it produces a
better quality of light than compact fluorescent bulbs which have become
very popular in recent years.
The new light source is said to be twice as efficient as fluorescent bulbs
"I'm saying we are brighter than one of these curly cube bulbs and I can give you any tint to that white light that you want."
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Lighting up the world
- Lighting accounts for around 19% of global electricity use
- A worldwide switch to low-energy bulbs could save the output of around 600 power plants
There have been several attempts
to develop new light-bulbs in recent years - Light Emitting Diodes
(LEDs) have come a long way since they were best known for being
indicator lights in electronic devices. Over the past decade, they have
become much more widely used as a light source as they are both bright
and efficient. They are now often used on large buildings.
Light not heat
Another step forward has been organic LEDs (OLEDs) which also
promise greater efficiency and better light than older, incandescent
bulbs. Their big advantage over LEDs is that they can be transformed
into many different shapes including the screens for high-definition
televisions. But Prof Carroll believes OLED lights haven't lived up to the hype.
"They don't last very long and they're not very bright," he said. "There's a limit to how much brightness you can get out of them. If you run too much current through them they melt."
The Fipel bulb, he says, overcomes all these problems.
"What we've found is a way of creating light rather than heat. Our devices contain no mercury, they contain no caustic chemicals and they don't break as they are not made of glass."
Prof Carroll says his new bulb is cheap to make and he has a "corporate partner" interested in manufacturing the device. He believes the first production runs will take place in 2013.
He also has great faith in the ability of the new bulbs to last. He says he has one in his lab that has been working for about a decade.
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