Isamu Akasaki, Hiroshi Amano and Shuji Nakamura has been awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for their invention of the blue light-emitting diode, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced today (Oct. 7).
The invention led to a new way to create white light. To get white light, three colors (red, green and blue) are needed. And while the red and green light-emitting diodes (LEDs) have been around for nearly half a century, scientists found the creation of blue light-emitting diodes a challenge. Then in the 1990s, in parallel, the trio created blue light beams from semiconductor materials.
In other light sources, such as incandescent bulbs and halogen lamps, the electric current heats a wire filament, making it glow; but with LEDs, the electricity is transformed directly into light, making such a technology more energy-efficient and longer-lasting
The invention of the blue LED is just twenty years old, but it has already contributed to create white light in an entirely new manner to the benefit of us all," according to a statement by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
Just two of the three Nobel Laureates could be reached today, as of publication, to give them the news of their prestigious award, as Amano was on a plane at the time of the call, said Staffan Normark, permanent secretary of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, during a press briefing. Regarding the two who did receive the call: "Of course they are thrilled of getting this prize, and I think actually they were not prepared for it. They had not been waiting all day and all night for this call. It's a fantastic experience for us to be the first to wake them up or call them in the evening and congratulate them for achieving the Nobel Prize in Physics."
Nakamura spoke to the press audience today over the phone, saying that hearing of his award was "unbelievable" and "amazing."
Akasaki is now at Meijo University, Nagoya, Japan and Nagoya University in Japan; Amano is at Nagoya University; and Nakamura is at the University of California, Santa Barbara. The three scientists will share this year's Nobel Prize award of 8 million Swedish Krona ($1.1 million).
Yesterday, the Nobel Prize in Medicine was awarded to three scientists for their discovery of the brain's "inner GPS," or two types of nerve cells that create spatial maps in the brain. Tomorrow (Oct. 8), Normark will announce the Nobel Prize in Chemistry at 5:45 a.m. EDT (11:45 a.m. Swedish time) at the earliest. You can watch a live webcast on Live Science of the announcement.
For decades, holograms have been seen largely on the screen, in sci-fi movies and TV shows like "Star Wars" and "Star Trek."
ReplyDelete" But now another major development in holographic technology is making headlines. A new device has been created that can transmit 3-dimensional images in close to real time. This could result in major advances in holographic tele-presence technologies. For example, I could conduct a keynote speech in Tokyo from the comfort of my own home—a 3D, high-resolution, full size image of my body could be projected on stage in front of a live audience over 6,000 miles away. If you are familiar with the work of my colleague, Ray Kurzweil, you may be aware that he sometimes gives "virtual lectures" where a 3D image of him is projected into a special podium. This tele-presence system, designed by Teleportec, has to have two running systems: one in Ray's office, and one on the special podium that displays the image. This allows him to conduct lectures in real time and interact with the audience on the other end. He can even making eye contact with students in the audience. (Image below: Ray Kurzweil using the Teleportec Video Conferencing Technology)
If you had Alice's Looking Glass and could visualize the wide spread implementation of this technology (assuming all the advancements go perfect)--How do you see everything playing out in terms of the consumer market in say 10-15 years?
PAB: We see the development of this technology in two steps. First we want to develop systems that correspond to very specialized application like medical imaging and military imaging. All the corner stones for such systems have been laid out and there is no to much breakthrough that need to be discovered for this to happen. It is more about refinement. Next we can think about more general audience when image speed achieve video rate and the size of the system can be shrunk thanks to new laser technology and better polymer performance. Telepresence for large conference rooms is one of those applications. Ultimately, yes we envision a holographic television in lets say 15 years.