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 The next step in lamps isn't a bulb; it's a glowing microchip. And it's revolutionizing everything from flashlights to chandeliers, from jewelry to knitting needles, and even brooms.
To see how much LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) have affected your life, look no farther than the nearest intersection, at walk/don't-walk signs, or automobile tail lights.
 
Almost every nation has enacted or is considering a law to eliminate the incandescent light bulb. Most bulbs will likely be replaced with compact fluorescent lamps. However, LEDs are coming on strong, too. By deploying LEDs onto the streets, many cities around the world are saving millions in power and maintenance costs. In the US alone, there are 4 million traffic signals, and half of those have already been converted to LED. San Francisco is saving $1 million a year by replacing the bulbs in its traffic signals with this latest technology.
It's gone way beyond exit signs and information displays.
If there is any place in the world that appreciates the next step in lighting technology, it's got to be Times Square in New York, and Las Vegas. Nearly every light bulb on the Las Vegas Strip has been replaced by light emitting diodes.
On New York's Times Square, the scrolling NASDAQ sign uses 18 million of them.
Why?
First, they use less power. 94% of the electricity burned by ordinary bulbs makes heat, not light. That's why they burn out. But an LED is 5 times more efficient, because it doesn't burn at all. It's a microchip. All it does is glow.
Second, they turn on and off faster than anything else. This means that you can stop 19 feet shorter at 65 mph, if the brake lights inside the automobile in front of you are made of LEDs.
Now the rap on LEDs has always been color. The whitest white was still kind of bluish. However, recent breakthroughs, are providing a whole rainbow of colors.
Novella Smith is a lighting designer used to working with architects and homeowners. She's attracting movie directors and television producers, now that her company has developed LED technology that can be tuned to any subtle color.
"Now we're adding as many colors as we can possibly get our hands on," she says. "So now we add amber, and cyan and indigo, and we add red/orange to that mix."
It's ironic that most televisions and computer screens cannot convey the difference between cyan and blue, and between amber and red! Our video gives you a pretty good idea, but trust us: It's obvious to the human eye. For years, on your television screen and computer screen, tiny red, blue and green dots combined to make you think you see white. But with an array of LEDs, you can now create real white.
That's a big deal, because lights affect your daily life in ways you might not even imagine. For instance, a supermarket isn't going to sell you much red meat, if there's a green cast in the area. And a clothing store isn't going to sell many white shirts that appear a little orange under the lights.
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