LED Lights & Polarizing Filters

LED light is used in a variety of applications.

Manipulation of light can produce beautiful effects, like mulit-colored night club lights. Another way of directing light to achieve a particular glow, or look, is through the use of polarizing filters applied to LED light bulbs.

Function

Polarizing filters only allow a portion of light to exit through its membrane, stopping all other light wave movements behind it. LEDs, or light emitting diodes, use electronic chips to change electricity immediately into light, producing a bright light without a large emission of heat.

Features

If a LED is covered with a polarizing filter, the result would be a soft glow within the filter covering the entire area of the membrane with evenly placed light. Without the filter, the LED would be one small, bright spot that can produce an uncomfortable glare to the human eye.

Considerations

By using a polarizing filter, the light from a LED can be spread more effectively to light a portion of a room, or even holiday light fixtures. The lack of heat and good energy efficiency makes the LED a good candidate for polarization in everyday lighting situations.

References

• Robot Room: Polarizing Light for Beacons and Polarizing Sensors for Detection
• Holiday LEDs: How Do LED Christmas Lights Work?
• Edmund Optics: Successful Light Polarization Techniques