Welcome Back The Incandescent Lamp

Energy-saving bulbs may have some competition in the shape of an ageing looking lamp with new technology. Scientists have developed a new kind of incandescent light bulb that uses modern science to ramp up its efficiency, almost matching that of commercial LED bulbs.

Now, a team of researchers from MIT has developed a new kind of incandescent bulb that uses a kind of nano-scale mirror to make use of the wasted infrared emissions. The team starts with photonic crystals: materials that allow light in the visible spectrum to pass straight through, while reflecting infrared back towards the filament. Energy from the infrared radiation is then absorbed and re-emitted once more, but some this time as visible light. That back-and-forth can continue, helping improve efficiency.

You can read more here.

Image by O. ILIC ET AL./MIT

14 Jan