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Ubiquitous LEDs make life better

What is the magic of a small blue light-emitting diode (blue LED) that caused its inventor to win the Nobel Prize in Physics? Li Fushan, professor at the School of Physics and Information Engineering at Fuzhou University and Distinguished Professor of Minjiang Scholars, pointed out that it is precisely because of the emergence of blue LEDs that white LEDs are possible, thus promoting the widespread application of LEDs in daily life. From the dazzling night scenes created by lighting projects on both sides of the Min River, to ordinary household lighting, to flat-panel TVs, computers and smartphone displays, LEDs are everywhere.
 
Professor Li Fushan said that LEDs of different colors require different materials, and manufacturing red and green LEDs is relatively simple. The achievement of three Nobel laureates in physics is to find a semiconductor material suitable for making blue LEDs - gallium nitride, and to find the technology to make this material. After the emergence of blue LEDs, the three primary colors of light - red, green, and blue - were gathered together, making it possible to create white LED light sources. In this way, LEDs can be widely used in daily life.
"The most widely used applications of LED are lighting and display." Professor Li Fushan said that compared with incandescent lamps and fluorescent lamps, LED lamps are energy-saving and have high brightness. With the same brightness, the power consumption of LED lights is only 1/10~1/15 of incandescent lamps and 1/4~1/5 of fluorescent lamps, making a particularly large contribution to environmental protection and energy saving. Now, some cars are also beginning to use LED lights for lighting. In terms of display, our TVs, computers, mobile phones, etc. are becoming increasingly thin and light. One of the important reasons is that LED provides a thin and light backlight.
 
Interestingly, this evening, the 2014 Nobel Prize in Chemistry will be announced. Chinese scientist Deng Qingyun is one of the popular candidates for the Chemistry Prize. He is known as the "Father of OLED". "The so-called OLED stands for 'organic light-emitting diode,' which is an LED made of organic materials. It and LED can be said to be 'brothers.'" Professor Li Fushan said that the advantages of LEDs made of organic materials are good display effects, thinness, lightness, flexibility, and bendability. Some of Samsung's smartphones use OLED technology. "Think about it, wouldn't it be wonderful if the TV could be bent and folded?"
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