Warm White LEDs: Lighting Up The Future

Inside Science Buzzwords:

1. Phosphor - A substance that lights up when it receives any form of energy other than heat; the phosphors coating the screens of old televisions would light up when struck by beams of electrons, and other phosphors can light up in response to other light.
2. Light Emitting Diode (LED) - A kind of device that converts electrical current into light energy; LEDs are generally very efficient, converting most of the incoming energy into light and not into heat.
3. Incandescent light bulb - A light bulb that illuminates when an electric current heats a wire until it glows; as much of the electrical energy gets converted into heat, incandescents are generally not very efficient at creating light.