Will Incandescents Make a Comeback?

One of the main stumbling blocks to the sustainability movement has been that many people just don’t want to change the way they do things or what they buy. Some don’t like the color of CFL’s, others are concerned about the mercury they contain.  LED’s are very efficient, but they are very expensive and it’s hard to find ones to replace 75 and 100-watt bulbs.  For those that have not made the switch to CFL’s or LED’s there may be some help.

Scientists at the University of Rochester have learned how to alter the filament using an ultra-brief pulse from an ultra-intense laser and make them much more efficient.  So far they have been able to produce a bulb that produces as much light as a 100-watt but uses less than 60 watts.  Furthermore, they have been able to effect the color of the light that the fillaments emit.  Hopefully this technology will soon be further developed and incoporated into mass production.  This way, more and more people will be encouraged to save energy and money.

In short: More efficient incandescent bulbs = a great step in the right direction.

Dan Bossenbroek

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