Free Time Observations

Three researchers were awarded the 2014 Nobel prize in Physics for inventing nothing other than the blue LED light. Isamu Akasaki, Hiroshi Amano and Shuji Nakamura were awarded the Nobel prize for inventing a diode that emitted blue light.

“How did three guys win one of the most prestigious awards in physics for inventing a light that shines blue?” was the first thing that came to mind when I heard about this. I just didn’t equate something that sounded so simple to me with a Nobel prize. This is the same award that was awarded for the discovery of the wave nature of electrons, for the discovery of the neutron and for the discovery of the superconducting properties of ceramic materials. Well after I had done some research, I found it turns out their invention had far-reaching consequences in developing so many of the things we consider ordinary today.

This is how a LED works:

LEDs are sandwiches of semi­conductor materials. The layers are ‘doped’ with other elements, which provides some layers with extra electrons and others with a surplus of ‘holes’, where missing electrons leave behind a positive charge. When an electrical current is applied, the electrons and holes combine at the junctions between the layers and emit light as a result.

With three primary colours - blue, red and green - we can create any colour including white.

Green and red LEDs had been around since the 1950s, but prior to their invention in the 1990s, no one in the industry could figure out how to create a diode that emitted blue light. This was a significant obstacle in creating a white LED. Without a blue LED, the white LED-based lights that are so common today wouldn’t be nearly as common, if they existed at all.

White LEDs are important because they are used in the screens of our smartphones, tablets, computer screens and TVs. LED lights were also vastly more efficient than any other light source invented before. One estimate believes that this invention could save up to 20% of the world’s power consumption.

So when taken into perspective and properly considered, the Japanese trio are in fact deserving of the prize. Their invention has been to the benefit of humanity and we are all better off because of it. This is also one of the few times the prize has been awarded for a practical invention.

• The two articles I used for researching this article are :

Nobel for blue LED that revolutionized lighting

Why A Blue LED Is Worth A Nobel Prize