New Graphene Lightbulb Available Soon This Year In Retail

A new graphene lightbulb hopes to unseat traditional LED's from their market dominance. LED bulbs slowly started replacing incandescent bulbs as countries began legislation to phase out the traditional filament bulbs in favor of LEDs. In some countries, the legislation is so strict, that cheaper incandescents are not only nowhere to be found, but illegal to import as well. Such policies were made with good intentions as LED bulbs consume less energy and last longer, which is good for the environment. This new graphene lightbulb still relies LED technology, and adds the strength of graphene molecules to create a bulb that should outlast any traditional LED.

The lightbulb consists of an LED that is shaped like a traditional filament, and is then coated in graphene. Graphene is an extremely strong material made from carbon atoms aligned in a particular way. By weight, it's actually 100 times stronger than steel. Due to graphene's 2-D atomic structure, it can be made into fine sheets which have various applications, including carbon nanotubes and fullerenes.

The lightbulb is a project from Manchester University's National Graphene Institute, which opened this March. Graphene Lighting is gearing up its new bulb for sale. There is no official price yet, but it aims to be cheaper than equivalent LED bulbs.

As technology has progressed, we have found ourselves in cooler, bluer light. LED and fluorescent lightbulbs tend to shine brighter than incandescent bulbs but lack warmth, casting everything in an unflattering light. Hopefully this graphene coated LED could bring back some of the warmth associated with incandescents at a fraction of the energy output.

Source: BBC