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LEDs, lots and lots of LEDs

BEST OF BREED

ONLYTHE

BEST

rom its humble beginnings in the

early 1960s, the light-emitting diode,

or LED, has become a favourite

component for electrical engineers,

artists, and even kids. It’s hard

to imagine a piece of electronics

that doesn’t have at least one LED indicating its

power. What’s even more surprising is that this

electroluminescence phenomenon was discovered

over 100 years ago, in the early 1900s.

It’s no wonder the LED has become so popular,

from the fact they exponentially outlast incandescent

light bulbs, come in a variety of colours, including

smart LEDs that can be programmed to represent

almost any colour of the rainbow, and they are

incredibly inexpensive. What’s not to love?

In this Best of Breed, We’ll be looking at some of

our favourite products that contain lots of LEDs (LoL).

Some have hundreds of LEDs, and others only feature

a handful, but all of them are reliant on the usefulness

and beauty of the humble LED.

FUN FACT

Everyone knows that the LED emits light, but did you

know that it can detect light too? Through the

use of a microcontroller and carefully controlling

the power, creating a reverse bias of the circuit, you

can actually sense light and dark. It’s not perfect, but

it’s still a fun hack of a standard LED. There’s lots of

information online about how to build the circuit –

just don’t expect it to replace a photoresistor, as its

sensitivity is not as good.

F

Everyone’s favourite electroluminescent phenomenon

By Marc de Vinck @devinck

LEDs, lots, and lots

of LEDs

Left

You can never have

too many LEDs