Archive for the 'LED Stories' Category

LEDS work Like Butterfly wings!!

When scientists developed an efficient device for emitting light, they hadn’t realised butterflies have been using the same method for 30 million years.

 Fluorescent patches on the wings of African swallowtail butterflies work in a very similar way to high emission light emitting diodes (LEDs).

These high emission LEDs are an efficient variation on the diodes used in electronic equipment and displays. So now you know!

butterfly

LEDs for cyclists - a great idea!!!

A PhD student in Colorado has come up with a cool idea to help all those cyclists stop getting knocked down. Using LEDs Leah Buechley has woven in indicators and controls into a fabric jacket. The application of the LED technology Leah has developed dosen’t stop with cyclists though.

20080315-led-cyclist-jacket.jpg

http://www.cs.colorado.edu/~buechley/

Earth-friendly lighting … LEDs #2 tio

Yet more proof that LEDs are the future for lighting in the home … this time coming from MercuryNew.com curtisory of those happyt guys over at TreeHugger.com. The tip we’re interested in says:

2. Get the LEDs out: LEDs, or light-emitting diodes, are extremely energy-efficient and long-lasting light bulbs. They cost more than CFLs, but use less energy and last longer. An LED light bulb can reduce energy consumption by 80 to 90 percent and last around 100,000 hours.

Read the full article via online via the Mercury News or visit TreeHugger.com for more eco ideas.

Murcury News - Silicon Valley

TreeHugger

BMW 5 series using LEDs

To readers of this blog it will come as no surprise to see more and more car manufacturers switching to use LED. LEDS are flexible and can be put into clusters to create interesting and innovative designs.

20080415-bmw1.jpg

BMW has been using LEDs more and more in their cars and I think they look great … it is a shame that more cars aren’t being factory fitted with LED technology, but that’s only a matter of time.

it’s been an LED christmas and new year

This year it’s been hard not to notice the switch from traditional bulbs to LEDs.   

 UNITY Christmas light display in Regent Street London

This Christmas, seeing in Christmas we’ve got large professional ministrations of LEDs on Regent Street, London.  Called UNITY the LEDs were arranged into clusters with a large central sphere, with 24 smaller spheres around it. The LEDs can glow at different intestacies and in different colours. They used motion detection to respond to what is happening on the street below. For example as people pass by sphere can light up. The LEDs are using a tenth of the electricity of previous installations.

Seeing us into the New Year in the USA we have the Times Square New Year’s Eve Ball.

New York New Year LED Ball!

The new ball with be watched by over one billions people watching world wide.

As a side note, The first “time-ball” was installed atop England’s Royal Observatory at Greenwich in 1833. This ball would drop at one o’clock every afternoon, allowing the captains of nearby ships to precisely set their chronometers.

This is the 100th celebration of the time ball, with the first being dropped in 1807. Only two years were missed out in that time, and that was due to “dimout” restrictions during the 2nd world war. The new 6ft (1.8m) ball is covered with 9,576 LEDs that use the same amount of electricity as 10 toasters. 

The main advantages

  • New technology will “make the ball glow like nothing else”, Tim Tompkins, president of the Times Square Alliance
  • Energy efficient lights
  • Twice as bright

You can read more New York, New Year’s Eve Ball online.

If your interested in creating your own outdoor installations check out our range of waterproof 12v LEDs. http://www.ultraleds.co.uk/waterproof-leds-c-76.html



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