Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Fireflies helping us go green!

The nighttime twinkling of fireflies has inspired scientists to modify an LED so it is more than one and a half times as efficient as the original. Researchers from Belgium, France, and Canada studied the internal structure of firefly lanterns, the organs on the bioluminescent insects’ abdomens that flash to attract mates. The scientists identified an unexpected pattern of jagged scales that enhanced the lanterns’ glow, and applied that knowledge to LED design to create an LED overlayer that mimicked the natural structure, which increased LED light extraction by up to 55 percent. For more information, click here.

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