This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American
As you may have heard, the Nobel Prize in Physics for 2014 is awarded to a trio of Japanese scientists. Isamu Akasaki, Hiroshi Amano and Shuji Nakamura were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for “the invention of efficient blue light-emitting diodes, which has enabled bright and energy-saving white light sources.”
There are, of course, other colored LEDs, including the red one invented by University of Illinois' Nick Holonyac, who has been honored in many ways (sans a Nobel), but creating the blue LED was a particular challenge which was ultimately solved by using the element gallium. We use blue LEDs all the time as it is a major component of computer screens and so much more!
Bill Hammack, aka The Engineer Guy, shows us a bit about the role of LEDs in his 2011 video "LCD Monitor Teardown"
On supporting science journalism
If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.
Interestingly, Bill shared a brief backstory about Nakamura and the blue LED in 2005 on a public radio, which is very much worth a listen/read HERE:
Last week a Japanese court awarded the inventor of the Blue LED or light emitting diode - you know those tiny lights like on the end of a key chain - over eight million dollars for his invention, a piddling amount for an invention worth about 600 million dollars. Why such a fuss over a blue light?These LEDs may even end the 100 year reign of Edison's incandescent bulb. Although a wonder of the 19th century it's simply too inefficient for our age, giving off much of its energy as heat. Not true of the tiny LED that runs cold, plus, they will last nearly 100 times longer than a regular bulb.
All this was only promise, though, until a self-described "country boy", working at an obscure chemical company, made the key breakthrough. Not a country boy from Texas or Louisiana, but from Tokushima, Japan.
Shuji Nakamura knew that for years large electronics firms failed to make blue LEDs, but this didn't deter him. He worked for ten years, seven days a week, twelve hours a day to perfect a blue LED. His bosses complained, asking him to drop the project noting that the big players in the field couldn't even make one. Undeterred, Nakamura succeeded.
As a result of his work Nichia Chemical sold 580 million dollars worth of these blue LEDs - they, in turn, gave Nakamura a mere $165 bonus. And then he did a very UN-japanese thing: He sued his employer.
Japanese corporations rarely share profits or patent rights with their engineers and scientists. But last year a Japanese court ordered a food manufacturer to pay an inventor a million bucks, and it forced Hitachi to also shell out over a million to an engineer.
And on Monday the Tokyo High Court approved a settlement that paid Nakamura, the inventor the blue LED, a record 8.1 million dollars.
Don't read this yet as a great change: Mr. Nakamura wasn't satisfied with the amount, he wanted the 200 million awarded by a lower court, but when it was turned over on appeal his lawyer advised him to take the offer since the probability of winning the suit was "zero."
The biggest winner of all might be America. Mr. Nakamura now works at the University of California-Santa Barbara. And he advises Japanese scientists and engineers "to come to America, where their abilities are reflected in their income."
Congratulations, gentlemen!