Eliminating the incandescent light bulb

Nature News : The technology of incandescent lights has changed very little since Thomas Edison made it a commercial success in the 1880s.

Inside the bulb is a filament--tungsten in today’s models--that is heated by the flow of electricity until it glows white and lights up the room. The design is simple, versatile, and cheap.

Nonetheless, that technology is now on the way out. In today’s energy-hungry world, the devices are too wasteful: some 98% of the energy input ends up as heat instead of light. Halogen lamps , which look more high-tech, are not any better.

Multiply that waste by the number of incandescent bulbs in residential, industrial, and commercial settings -- an estimated 4 billion standard light sockets in the United States alone -- and it is clear why several countries are seeking to eliminate the bulbs entirely as a way to control carbon dioxide emissions.