American scientist invents plastic light bulb

December 06, 2012 12:25 am | Updated 12:25 am IST

A US scientist has invented a new kind of light bulb that uses plastic polymers and nano materials to generate light that is more energy-efficient than current fluorescent lights and is easier on the eye.

Details of the new invention were published Monday on the website of Wake Forest University in North Carolina, where the inventor, physics professor David Caroll, is based.

The new plastic lighting uses the same amount of electricity as LED bulbs and half as much as fluorescent bulbs. The device is made of three layers of white-emitting polymer blended with a small amount of nano-materials that glow when stimulated with electrical current to create bright, perfectly white light similar to the sunlight human eyes prefer. It can be made in any colour or shape — from flat sheets to replace office lighting to standard bulbs in household lamps.

“People often complain that fluorescent lights bother their eyes, and the hum from the fluorescent tubes irritates anyone sitting at a desk underneath them,” said Dr. Carroll.

Dr.Caroll is the director of the Centre for Nanotechnology and Molecular Materials. “The new lights we have created can cure both of those problems and more.”

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