Researchers Create New Cheap, Shatterproof, Plastic Light Bulbs

hattig writes "US researchers say they have developed a new type of lighting that could replace fluorescent bulbs. The new light source is called field-induced polymer electroluminescent (Fipel) technology. It is made from three layers of white-emitting polymer that contain a small volume of nanomaterials that glow when electric current is passed through them. The developer is promising cheap, hard-to-break, mercury-free, highly efficient bulbs from 2013."

Comments

Re:The Light Bulb Conspiracy

[vlm]

I wonder what the lifespan of these bulbs is going to be ...
The Light Bulb Conspiracy

The developer is promising cheap, hard-to-break, mercury-free, highly efficient bulbs

Historically the three problems with EL have been color balance (or total lack thereof), lifespan (maybe a year at full power), and surface brightness (like forget "lamps" you'll need to cover the entire ceiling with illuminated panels to get modest room illumination).

What the developer is promising has been off the shelf for at least 3 decades... What I listed is the really hard part.

Re:Cheap

[jellomizer]

What would the incentive to make such a device in a non-capitalistic economy?

I don't think you realize how much cheap stuff we have today in America?

If you look at prices today and that of 60 years ago and adjust of inflation we will see that a lot of the stuff of the past was more expensive then it is today. Heck we have a lot of things that would be excessively expensive back in the day. Our $200 cellphones would have cost millions of dollars for the same power. And they were paying a hefty price for the normal phones which we would be able to get for under $10.00.

It isn't that businesses are making things more expensive it is that we as a culture are demanding more things.
Back in the old days for your monthly bills
Mortgage, Car, Power, Telephone.
Today
Mortgage, Car, Power, Telephone, Internet, Cell Phone, Cable TV, Netflix...

Expected homes of the 1950 would be small 1000sq/ft homes. Once Car for the family, one Telephone and they will only call rarely,
For power they would power lights, heat, the refrigerator, washer and dryer, and a TV. All ran on AC power, and most when not in use were turned off.

If we were to live like we did during the 1950's we would have huge amounts of income stored up more then ever, because we would be living extremely modestly.

It isn't that things got more expensive they actually gotten cheaper, we just got more things.

Display backlights? Wall-mounted panels?

[Mal-2]

It seems to me a light source that is inherently flat would be ideal for a display backlight. It probably won't make them much thinner than they already are, but it could make them less complex to produce and possibly more repairable (by replacing aged backlights).

Also, being able to attach these directly to walls and ceilings rather than mounting brackets or cutting holes for lamps would allow a wider placement of light sources than is currently practical. I'd probably have (at least) one on every wall plus some on the ceiling, to make sure that I could get an ideal spread of light sources for whatever work I might be doing.