by Michael Graham Richard, Gatineau, Canada on 04. 7.08

Design & Architecture (lighting)

Buzz up!

At 140 lumens/watt, these pill-sized plasma light bulbs by Luxim are a pretty awesome contender for “light of the future”. They are almost 10 times more efficient than traditional incandescent light bulbs, twice as efficient as current high-end LEDs, and they also beat CFLs, most of which are around 50-80 lumens/watt. Only the prototype 300 lumens/watt nanocrystal-coated LEDs can hold a candle to them.

And the light from Luxim’s LIFI bulb is not ugly either: color rendering index (CRI) is 91. Lifetime for a bulb is estimated at 20,000 hours, and a relatively large amount of power can be pumped through them, allowing a tiny bulb to produce 30,000+ lumens (not something LEDs can do).

An RF (radio-frequency) signal is generated by the solid-state power amplifier and is guided into an electric field about the bulb. The high concentration of energy in the electric field vaporizes the contents of the bulb to a plasma state at the bulb’s center; this controlled plasma generates an intense source of light.

Luxim seems to want to use them in projectors, but since even a tiny light bulb can produce as much light as a street lamp, sky seems to be the limit if cost can be brought down.

::Luxim, ::Tiny Pill-Sized Plasma Bulb is Brighter Than Streetlight, ::Inventors Create Pill-Sized Bulb That’s Brighter Than a Street Lamp

See also: ::Nanocrystal Coating = White LED Big Breakthrough?, ::Osram Claims Warm White Organic LED Breakthrough

Thirsty for more? Check out these related articles:

• Should I Worry About Deadly Mercury In My CFLs?
• Is Lighting A Candle for Earth Hour Counterproductive?
• Green Glossary: Motion Sensor Lighting
• Seattle Sports Solar Charging/Cranking Flashlight Review

Source: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/04/luxim-plasma-lifi-light-bulb-led-cfl.php

by Michael Graham Richard, Gatineau, Canada on 04. 7.08

Design & Architecture (lighting)