How Does a Color Changing LED Work

History Behind LED Lights

LED lights can be found in many products that are used everyday. LED lights are energy-efficient and produce almost no heat in comparison to incandescent and fluorescent lights The LED light was invented by Nick Holonyak in 1962 while he was working for General Electric as a scientist. Holonyak is also credited with inventing the laser diode and has more than 40 patents. LED stands for light-emitting diode. A diode is an electronic component that allows current to flow in only one direction. LEDs can be found in many household devices, from computers to remote controls. Recently, LEDs have seen use in flashlights and even as a replacement for incandescent lights and Christmas lights.

How Color Changing LED Lights Work

LEDs have the ability to last years and years. The reason LEDs have this characteristic is because they have no filament like an ordinary light bulb. Having no filament means that LEDs do not produce large amounts of heat and are not subject to vibration. LEDs work by passing an electrical current over a semiconductor chip. The chip has two sides--a P-type and N-type. The P-type is the positive side and the N-type is the negative. The electron flow from P-type to N-type is what creates light. This causes the chip to emit a photon or beam of light. The chip is often made out of arsenic, phosphorous or gallium. Some color changing LED lights just have one or more semiconductor chips that produce different colors. Real color changing LED lights incorporate several diodes into one unit making it hard to distinguish where the light is being emitted.

Applications and the Future of Color Changing LEDs

LED lights will definitely be in many of the products of the future. As the technology and brightness of LED lights increase, it is possible that LED lights will replace halogen headlights in cars. Everyday, scientists invent new ways to implement this technology. Color changing LEDs have already found their way into Christmas lights and a small number of televisions. Currently, color changing LED lights are quite expensive. This is due in part to the prices of semiconductor materials from which they are made. However, as production increases in the future, the prices of LED lights will fall and they will start replacing more and more conventional lights.