It looks like you're using an Ad Blocker.
Please white-list or disable AboveTopSecret.com in your ad-blocking tool.
Thank you.
Some features of ATS will be disabled while you continue to use an ad-blocker.
MIT physicists have managed to build a light-emitting diode that has an electrical efficiency of more than 100 percent. You may ask, "Wouldn't that mean it breaks the first law of thermodynamics?" The answer, happily, is no.
Originally posted by CrastneyJPR
they are 'producing' pico watts of electricicy - so small as to be accountable via normal small fluctuations in temperature, humidty, etc, or movement, like the slight tremmor as a cockroack walks past.
Physicists have known for decades that, in principle, a semiconductor device can emit more light power than it consumes electrically. Experiments published in Physical Review Letters finally demonstrate this in practice, though at a small scale.
These initial results provide too little light for most applications. However, heating the light emitters increases their output power and efficiency, meaning they are like thermodynamic heat engines, except they come with the fast electrical control of modern semiconductor devices.
Originally posted by OccamsRazor04
reply to post by prevenge
I don't think I have seen a more childish post since I joined ATS. The other guy has a valid point, the energy is so meaningless there could be outside sources. Of course I think he simply failed to read there is an outside source, heat from the surrounding areas.
Perhaps informing him of this and saying it does not sound impressive now, but what might this technology be combined with to make it very useful?
Instead you decide to go on a childish rant.
Originally posted by windlass34
reply to post by nuclear12346
well, with 100,000 of these working you will get 69 microWatts of energy... :-)
you'd need 100 trillion of those to power anything reasonable.