# Looking for a video of an LED in fast time.. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 8, 2014, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-video-of-an-led-in-fast-time/704099 "2014-11-08T21:32:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Henryunderborn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/58f4c7/32.png) [@Henryunderborn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Henryunderborn)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2014, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-video-of-an-led-in-fast-time/704099/1 "2014-11-08T21:32:06Z")
I have been wanting to watch one of those, fast speed videos, that they make for decomposing corpses or plants flowering. Only I want one of watching an LED light that lasts for like… 2 years. Anyone help me out? ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2014, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-video-of-an-led-in-fast-time/704099/2 "2014-11-08T23:54:02Z")
Wouldn’t that be the most boring video possible? What do you expect to see? ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2014, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-video-of-an-led-in-fast-time/704099/3 "2014-11-09T00:08:34Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > Wouldn’t that be the most boring video possible? > What do you expect to see? a long video of an LED getting ever so slightly dimmer… ---
**Author:** ![typoink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@typoink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/typoink)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2014, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-video-of-an-led-in-fast-time/704099/4 "2014-11-09T01:08:34Z")
I’m assuming that you’re asking for this because you have a suspicion that there’s a fluctuation in the light quality of LEDs. I don’t think a time-lapse video would be a good way to judge, because it would be difficult to ensure that you’re not seeing fluctuations in the camera / ambient light / white balance / etc. High-quality time lapse also works best by having a tripod (if not the camera itself) permanently mounted…so you’re asking for an extremely long commitment of space and equipment without really giving a reason. I think long-term results from light level sensors would be a lot more meaningful. But I apologize that I don’t have that handy, either. ---
**Author:** ![Henryunderborn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/58f4c7/32.png) [@Henryunderborn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Henryunderborn)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2014, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-video-of-an-led-in-fast-time/704099/5 "2014-11-09T01:14:00Z")
I Just want to see the light go out. LEDS everywhere in all my appliances, I don’t think one ever gave out, unless it was smashed. Really just think itd be cool. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2014, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-video-of-an-led-in-fast-time/704099/6 "2014-11-09T03:31:08Z")
I read this wrong. I thought you wanted a fast cranked video, i.e. one in slow motion, so you could maybe see any possible flickering. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2014, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-video-of-an-led-in-fast-time/704099/7 "2014-11-09T04:06:51Z")
2 years? Try closer to 20 years. LEDs have a much longer lifetime due to their solid state electronics and low voltages. Especially the kind of LEDs used as indicator lights. Shit, I’m sure there’s plenty still working that were manufactured in the 80s. Maybe longer. ---
**Author:** ![Ale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Ale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ale)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2014, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-video-of-an-led-in-fast-time/704099/8 "2014-11-09T08:23:13Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > I read this wrong. I thought you wanted a fast cranked video, i.e. one in slow motion, so you could maybe see any possible flickering. LEDs don’t flicker if they are run on continuous current, although it is common to drive them with pulses to control the brightness. A few years ago I was tinkering with some LEDs and a microcontroller to make navigation lights for a R/C airplane, when I did a video of the lights at work I saw something unexpected, the lens flare of the LED with a dimming action was actually showing the length of the pulses controlling it, [here’s the link to the video](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hwrb5RjW6U) were you can see the effect. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2014, 9:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-video-of-an-led-in-fast-time/704099/9 "2014-11-09T09:38:51Z")
That’s cool, but just to nitpick, I don’t think that’s lens flare. I think that’s something to do with the image sensor - brightness beyond tolerance spilling charge over onto the whole column of pixels (so a bit like an electronic version of halation) ---
**Author:** ![Henryunderborn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/58f4c7/32.png) [@Henryunderborn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Henryunderborn)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2014, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-video-of-an-led-in-fast-time/704099/10 "2014-11-09T14:10:03Z")
I don’t mean slow motion. I mean the kind when they take a 3 month video, and it streams in about 3-5 minutes. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2014, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-video-of-an-led-in-fast-time/704099/11 "2014-11-09T14:54:22Z")
You could get some sense of dimming by getting a bunch of identical LEDs, running half of them for a few years at their maximum current, and then running all of them in series (so the current is identical) to see if half of them look a bit dimmer. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2014, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-video-of-an-led-in-fast-time/704099/12 "2014-11-09T14:59:21Z")
> [@Henryunderborn](#): > > I don’t mean slow motion. I mean the kind when they take a 3 month video, and it streams in about 3-5 minutes. Yeah. That’s called timelapse. ---
**Author:** ![Henryunderborn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/58f4c7/32.png) [@Henryunderborn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Henryunderborn)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2014, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-video-of-an-led-in-fast-time/704099/13 "2014-11-09T15:01:11Z")
This really isnt for any sort of comparative analysis. I just want to see the life span of an LED - Start to Finish. Like in one of those videos. ---
**Author:** ![Ale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Ale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ale)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2014, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-video-of-an-led-in-fast-time/704099/14 "2014-11-09T15:01:47Z")
> [@Henryunderborn](#): > > I don’t mean slow motion. I mean the kind when they take a 3 month video, and it streams in about 3-5 minutes. That’s called a time lapse video; LEDs have a lifespan from 20 to 100 thousand hours, so it would had to be a very, very long time lapse, the kind glaciers would watch and say “booooooring!”. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2014, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-video-of-an-led-in-fast-time/704099/15 "2014-11-09T17:03:48Z")
> [@Henryunderborn](#): > > This really isnt for any sort of comparative analysis. I just want to see the life span of an LED - Start to Finish. Like in one of those videos. So, start one. ---
**Author:** ![Henryunderborn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/58f4c7/32.png) [@Henryunderborn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Henryunderborn)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2014, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-video-of-an-led-in-fast-time/704099/16 "2014-11-09T20:10:38Z")
well, im asking for one. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2014, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-video-of-an-led-in-fast-time/704099/17 "2014-11-09T20:25:04Z")
There is nobody else in the entire world who wants to do that. You are unique. So, either do it yourself, or move on… ---
**Author:** ![Henryunderborn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/58f4c7/32.png) [@Henryunderborn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Henryunderborn)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2014, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-video-of-an-led-in-fast-time/704099/18 "2014-11-09T22:27:59Z")
but it could already be out there. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2014, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-video-of-an-led-in-fast-time/704099/19 "2014-11-10T02:07:25Z")
> [@Henryunderborn](#): > > but it could already be out there. Yes, and pigs _could_ fly. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2014, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-video-of-an-led-in-fast-time/704099/20 "2014-11-10T02:54:42Z")
How would you be able to distinguish it from a real time video of an LED that is on for a short time, then gets switched off? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-video-of-an-led-in-fast-time/704099.md?page=2)