The light bulb which lasts for 60 years

The light bulb which lasts for 60 years

www.cambridge-news.co.uk

A REVOLUTIONARY new bulb which slashes household lighting bills by 75 per cent has been unveiled.

Dubbed "the holy grail" by scientists the bulb, created by Cambridge University scientists, uses cheap LEDs which emit brilliant light but use very little electricity and last up to 60 years.

(visit the link for the full news article)


Related News Links:
EE Times
The Telegraph
Wikipedia - Gallium Nitride

Edit to add:

Cambridge Centre for Gallium Nitride

[edit on 30/1/2009 by skibtz]

Looks like LEDs are the way forward then.

The holy grail of lightbulbs could be hitting the stores in 2 years, cost £2 and burn for 100,000 hours.

I dont think there will be the usual problem of mercury and other toxic waste either.

It does use Gallium Nitride but I dont know much about this and I doubt very much it is as toxic as the mercury that is used in our new range of supposedly 'green' bulbs that we pay through the nose for.

The bulbs are not perfected yet but as they are, all other fliament bulbs should be phased out entirely.

www.cambridge-news.co.uk
(visit the link for the full news article)

[edit on 30/1/2009 by skibtz]

OK I'll be that guy.
I'll believe it when they've succesfully burned a bulb.....for sixty years.

reply to post by badgerprints




I think the technology has been around for many years - prolly not 60 - it's just that it will now be possible to get the bub manufactured at a viable price.

I this I would rather spend £2 on a bulb and try it for 60 years

The Gallium Nitride, while toxicity concerns were raised in the Wiki entry, should be safe due to the device being encased.

Well, tell ya what, just yesterday I had a friend visit who showed me a new LED flashlight he got for his birthday. Now previous to this I was always under the impression the LED's just weren't strong enough, and never really checked into it much more after that. But clearly that technology has come a long way. That thing was so bright I could not look directly at it. It was a tiny little one too, pocket size, about 3 to four inches long, maybe an inch in diameter. It had a ring of LED's setup as the light. I was really surprised. Gotta have one.

Something kinda like this:

www.sourcinggate.com...

60 years? Hmmm, reminds me of the urban myths of the first ever light bulb factory that made light bulbs that burnt forever (so to speak) and of course went out of business because no one needed to buy new bulbs any more. So then they re-engineered the bulbs to only last 100 hours etc.

From what I can tell that story is bunk, but it makes you wonder when someone makes claims of 60 years???

reply to post by TrueAmerican


Thanks for the link


Will look in to getting one of those

My city has started replacing a lot of the big ugly orange street lights around town with rectangular clusters of LEDs, and they definitely look a lot nicer, and obviously save a lot of power.

They seem to be just as bright as the ones they're replacing, but most led flashlights I've used were super bright to look at, but had a really weak beam.

Definitely a step in the right direction if you ask me.

This is taken from Wikipedia, I'm sure there is a better source for this information but figured it couldn't hurt to share this..

en.wikipedia.org...

Safety and toxicity aspects

The toxicology of GaN has not been fully investigated. The dust is an irritant to skin, eyes and lungs. The environment, health and safety aspects of gallium nitride sources (such as trimethylgallium and ammonia) and industrial hygiene monitoring studies of MOVPE sources have been reported recently in a review.[13]

Hopefully these bulbs will be okay, because I don't want to spend a fortune on electricity and I have to replace the swirly "green" bulbs I have now because of the safety concerns.

A good little article here from 1999 from the same guys:

BBC Article - 1999

Was funny reading about the CD storage possibilities way back then

reply to post by skibtz

Oh, I think it's probably a good technology and might even perform how they claim it will, but I'm 41 years old and I just have a problem with the concept of "You will die before this bulb burns out." How can I read by the light of a bulb that makes me face my own mortality?

On another note, what are you going to do in 10 years when they have 100 year bulbs and your 60 year bulb is obsolete?

OK. I'm being a pessimist. Sorry.

60 year bulb.

Yay.

reply to post by badgerprints




10 Years from now we'll probably be living in caves and sitting round campfires again the way things are heading!

But yeah, I think we can expect a lightbulb that lasts forever in the not too distance future.

Originally posted by forevergeek.com

Philips LED Street lamps
Sunday, Jul. 17 2005 | Author: Dave


Philips has put up the first street lamps that use light-emitting diodes (LEDs), which last four times longer than normal street lighting, the Dutch electronics group said on Friday. With 50,000 light hours, LED lamps do not have to be changed for 12 years when lit for an average 11 to 12 hours a day.

Until now, LEDs were used as indicators on electronic goods, bicycles and cars, but technical developments have made them so bright they can now be used for any normal lighting situation.

Gas-filled streetlamps last an average 12,000 hours, and replacing them is costly and also hampers traffic, especially in hard-to-reach places such as tunnels.

LED streetlamps are twice as expensive as current street lighting with a similar design, but this is compensated for by the longer lifespan, Philips product manager Bram Lansink said.

foreverfeek


EDIT: that was 2005

[edit on 2009130 by Carlthulhu]

LEDs are beasts, just take a look at some of the top end bicycle lights. A few people have suggested to me that this technology has indeed been around for a while. I once heard that a global bulb manufacturer (not sure who) purchased the patent for this bulb and never made them. As I've mentioned in other posts a bulb that lasts that long could near enough kill the bulb production industry.

I believe there is a bulb, at some Fire Engine in the US, that has been on for 100+ years. Saw it on the History Channel, but cannot recall any specifics. It's not LED, practical nor cost efficient, but it worked.

[edit on 30-1-2009 by WestPoint23]

reply to post by skibtz


You're welcome

And just in case anyone was wondering, after a little checking, if you had to have the best led flashlight you better be ready to fork out some serious bucks

However, it appears this would qualify right up there near the top, with a whopping 1,000 lumen output (although that is just one measure of "good"):

www.musikick.co.uk...

World's most powerful handheld flashlightUltra high light output * Incredibly tough and rugged Extremely flexible * Zero maintenance 50.000+ hours LED lifetime * Up to 10 years battery life2 hour charging * 3 years Trade-in GuaranteeIncredible brightnessPick up a Wiseled Tactical and turn it on. It delivers an incredible amount of light. With an output of 1.000 lumen it is among the world's most powerful handheld flashlights. Yet all of this power fits smoothly into your hand in a compact, rugged and reliable design that stands up to the most punishing of environments. Wiseled flashlights are water-proof, wind-proof, heat- resistant and even sand-proof.Zero maintenance Wiseled flashlights are designed to work under the most challenging conditions - year after year. They deliver up to 20 hours of continuous operation on a single charge(at 20% power - the duration depends on the amount of light you wish to use - the Wiseled Tactical will work for up to 500 minutes at 20% power).And you can forget about replacing bulbs and batteries: A Wiseled flashlights delivers up to 10 years of battery life and 50.000+ hours of LED operation. Our flashlights require no maintenance and we manufacture no spare parts - instead we back our flashlights with a 3-years Trade-in guarantee. Simply put we believe this to be the finest professional flashlight in the world.

reply to post by skibtz


Not that this is not a good thing, it is slightly misleading, let me explain.

100,000 hour's divided by 24 hours per day equals 4166.6 days

4166.6 days divided by 365 days per year equals 11.4 years.

I know, I get it, the number assumes the bulb is not on all day everyday, but that was not clear.

Lets try 870,000 hours.

Centennial Light

Apparently, I have great memory.

Originally posted by mrmonsoon
reply to post by skibtz

 

Not that this is not a good thing, it is slightly misleading, let me explain.

100,000 hour's divided by 24 hours per day equals 4166.6 days

4166.6 days divided by 365 days per year equals 11.4 years.

I know, I get it, the number assumes the bulb is not on all day everyday, but that was not clear.

I see what you are saying but it is a good thing when you consider that the bulb is potentially 5x more efficient.

This means that current bulbs are lasting approx. 2.3 years versus 11.4 with the new LED.

The other advantage is that the older style bulbs have a tendency to blow way before they make it to their anticipated lifespan due to the fragile filament. I think LEDs would be far more robust. Maybe

[edit on 30/1/2009 by skibtz]

reply to post by WestPoint23


Now that's one reliable lightbulb

Almost a one liner.