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Invention of blue LEDs receives physics Nobel Invention of blue LEDs receives physics Nobel
(35 minutes later)
The 2014 Nobel Prize for physics has been awarded to a trio of scientists in Japan and the US for the invention of blue light emitting diodes (LEDs).The 2014 Nobel Prize for physics has been awarded to a trio of scientists in Japan and the US for the invention of blue light emitting diodes (LEDs).
The blue LEDs developed by Professors Isamu Akasaki, Hiroshi Amano and Shuji Nakamura helped produce bright, energy-efficient white light sources. Professors Isamu Akasaki, Hiroshi Amano and Shuji Nakamura made the first blue LEDs in the early 1990s.
The winners, named at a press conference in Sweden, will share prize money of eight million kronor (£0.7m). By combining blue light with existing red and green LEDs, this enabled a new generation of bright, energy-efficient white lamps.
The physics Nobel has been awarded to 196 other laureates since 1901. The winners will share prize money of eight million kronor (£0.7m).
They were named at a press conference in Sweden, and join a prestigious list of 196 other Physics laureates recognised since 1901.
Prof Nakamura, who was woken up in Japan to receive the news, told the press conference, "It's unbelievable."Prof Nakamura, who was woken up in Japan to receive the news, told the press conference, "It's unbelievable."
Making the announcement, representatives of the Nobel Foundation emphasised the usefulness of the invention, adding that the Nobel Prizes were established to recognise developments that delivered "the greatest benefit to mankind". Making the announcement, the Nobel jury emphasised the usefulness of the invention, adding that the Nobel Prizes were established to recognise developments that delivered "the greatest benefit to mankind".
"These uses are what would make Alfred Nobel very happy," said Prof Olle Inganas, a member of the prize committee from Linkoping University."These uses are what would make Alfred Nobel very happy," said Prof Olle Inganas, a member of the prize committee from Linkoping University.
The committee chair, Prof Per Delsing, from Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, emphasised the winners' dedication.The committee chair, Prof Per Delsing, from Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, emphasised the winners' dedication.
"What's fascinating is that a lot of big companies really tried to do this and they failed," he said. "But these guys persisted and they tried and tried again - and eventually they actually succeeded.""What's fascinating is that a lot of big companies really tried to do this and they failed," he said. "But these guys persisted and they tried and tried again - and eventually they actually succeeded."
Although red and green LEDs had been around for many years, blue LEDs were a long-standing challenge for scientists in both academia and industry. Without them, the three colours could not be mixed to produce white light in lamps, as well as in computers and TV screens.
Now blue LEDs are found in people's pockets around the world, inside the lights and screens of smartphones.
White LED lamps, meanwhile, deliver white light to offices and households around the world. They use much less energy than both incandescent and fluorescent lamps.
In its award citation, the Nobel committee declared, "Incandescent light bulbs lit the 20th Century; the 21st Century will be lit by LED lamps."
Because a quarter of the world's energy is used for lighting, energy-efficient lamps form an important part of the effort to help slow carbon dioxide emissions worldwide.
LED lamps also have the potential to help more than 1.5 billion people around the world who do not have access to electricity grids - because they are efficient enough to run on cheap, local solar power.
Professor Sir Colin Humphreys from the University of Cambridge commented: "This is a tremendous achievement and Akasaki, Amano and Nakamura are very worthy winners. Their invention of efficient blue LEDs has paved the way for the development of bright, cost effective and, importantly, energy efficient white lighting."