# Plastic bulb development promises better quality light **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 3, 2012, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plastic-bulb-development-promises-better-quality-light/642833 "2012-12-03T07:14:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2012, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plastic-bulb-development-promises-better-quality-light/642833/1 "2012-12-03T07:14:26Z")
Hardly mundane or pointless - if lives up to the hype in the article, would be a revolution in lighting. > **[Plastic bulb development promises better quality light](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-20553143)** > > US researchers say they have developed a new type of lighting that could replace fluorescent bulbs in homes and offices. 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 inventor of the device is Dr David Carroll, professor of physics at Wake Forest University in North Carolina. He says the new plastic lighting source can be made into any shape, and it produces a better quality of light than compact fluorescent bulbs which have become very popular in recent years. The new light source is said to be twice as efficient as fluorescent bulbs. … Prof Carroll says his new bulb is cheap to make and he has a “corporate partner” interested in manufacturing the device. He believes the first production runs will take place in 2013. ---
**Author:** ![AaronX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7bcc69/32.png) [@AaronX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronX)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2012, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plastic-bulb-development-promises-better-quality-light/642833/2 "2012-12-03T07:55:57Z")
The main problem with organic electronics of any sort is lifespan. ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2012, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plastic-bulb-development-promises-better-quality-light/642833/3 "2012-12-03T10:19:34Z")
> [@AaronX](#): > > The main problem with organic electronics of any sort is lifespan. “He also has great faith in the ability of the new bulbs to last. He says he has one in his lab that has been working for about a decade.” ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Knig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@Typo\_Knig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Knig)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2012, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plastic-bulb-development-promises-better-quality-light/642833/4 "2012-12-03T11:32:41Z")
This is exciting! But think about the history of Compact Fluorescent and Light Emitting Diode light bulbs for consumers. It takes a few years to get into the hands of consumers, then takes a few more years for the price and quality and lifespan to all get into acceptable ranges. If this pans out I doubt it will be the only light source of 2019, but it may be a significant light source of the mid-2020s. It would be nice to have a fourth option in addition to incandescents, CFs, and LEDs. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2012, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plastic-bulb-development-promises-better-quality-light/642833/5 "2012-12-03T15:29:37Z")
In my limited experience, electroluminescent displays threw off very little light. (Some of those little nightlights for children use EL displays.) I’m sure that there will be better light sources in the future. I remember an article about [this company](http://www.vu1corporation.com/), whose lighting technology is similar to a CRT. I think eventually the idea of lamps as distinct objects will disappear. I think eventually, we’ll have walls, ceilings and other surfaces that provide illumination directly, without actual bulbs. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2012, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plastic-bulb-development-promises-better-quality-light/642833/6 "2012-12-03T15:51:08Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I think eventually the idea of lamps as distinct objects will disappear. I think eventually, we’ll have walls, ceilings and other surfaces that provide illumination directly, without actual bulbs. I think there will be a lot of this. Glowing ceilings my be very popular. I think free standing lamps will always be around, but cease to have removable bulbs, and possibly take on a much different appearance from the common shaded lamps we now use. ---
**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:** [December 3, 2012, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plastic-bulb-development-promises-better-quality-light/642833/7 "2012-12-03T16:24:58Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > “He also has great faith in the ability of the new bulbs to last. He says he has one in his lab that has been working for about a decade.” That in itself is a concern. The technology has been viable for a decade, and we’re only hearing about it now? ---
**Author:** ![Michael63129](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3da27b/32.png) [@Michael63129](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael63129)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2012, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plastic-bulb-development-promises-better-quality-light/642833/8 "2012-12-03T16:59:10Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > “He also has great faith in the ability of the new bulbs to last. He says he has one in his lab that has been working for about a decade.” But I have an LED alarm clock which is probably 30 years old (not sure, I got it at a garage sale for 99 cents (the price is still marked on the front) about 15 years ago, a fancy faux-wood model) and shows no signs of degradation (e.g. the 10s of hours digit doesn’t look any brighter than the others, despite being on for only 3/8 of the day and it has been running far longer than the oft-quoted 50,000 hour lifespan of LED bulbs; of course, the LEDs in those bulbs are driven far harder and get much hotter). ---
**Author:** ![AaronX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7bcc69/32.png) [@AaronX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronX)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2012, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plastic-bulb-development-promises-better-quality-light/642833/9 "2012-12-04T06:14:00Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > “He also has great faith in the ability of the new bulbs to last. He says he has one in his lab that has been working for about a decade.” There is no way he means 10 years continuously - then just how long has this bulb been on? This highlights another problem: organic electronics may degrade even if not used.