Hot on the heels of the previous post...

Well I've only just posted something about LED tech and Bridgelux and then I found something even better :)

Some bright lights (pun intended) using theoretical computations have come up with an alloy primarly made from galium nitride, also used in LEDs, that can break the chemical bond between hydrogen and oxygen molecules when exposed to sunlight.  What does this mean.  Immersed in water and exposed to sunlight it splits the water to produce hydrogen gas which of course can then be burnt or used in other catalytic reactions say for example engines in cars or better yet in catalysers that produce electricity to power electric cars or power grids.

Going a little bit sideways and you could perhaps combine the LED technology with an onchip water splitting, hydrogen catalyst to power conversion to produce external or underwater LEDs that provide their own power from the environment.  Perhaps I'm dreaming but it's a good dream.

This technology could also perhaps do away with these terrible and hugely expensive power producing plants especially the Nuclear ones.  And we know what those things are capable of.  Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Goes South

Here's some more of the same in the last fews years:

New Class Of Catalyst For Fuel Cells Beats Pure Platinum By A Mile
New Aluminum-Rich Alloy Produces Hydrogen On-Demand For Large-Scale Uses
Portable Tech Might Provide Drinking Water, Power to Villages

Cheaper lighting via lower cost LED manufacturing process...

Okay so for a while now I've been following this company called Bridgelux because of their research into more efficient LEDs and cheaper methods of manufacture.  They have been using silicon as the substrate for the galium nitride layer that emits the light we see from LEDs.  Other materials are currently used instead of Silicon, like sapphire or silicon carbide, but these are more expensive than silicon to extract and/or manufacture.  However the GaN mix, until recently, hasn't produced the same Lumen figures as the LEDs made using the more expensive substrates.  This is where Bridgelux has just stepped in.  Their new research has increased the output of the GaN based LEDs and they've had success with fabrication on larger, lower cost silicon wafers.

So what does this mean?

I'm hoping that it means LED lighting for everyone at lower cost than the current incandescent and CFL lighting and better quality colour.  Plus lower demands on the energy production systems and power grids.  This could also lead to cheaper and simpler alternative power generation systems for residential homes.  And as an extra bonus all those prefab plants that are no longer capable of producing layers for CPU manufacture can be used for this process instead.

Here's a couple more articles about the push to LED lighting:

No compromise LED replacement
LED light a window to a new future
New Zealand Manufacturer Supplier