In October 2014, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences issued a statement in which it said, “Incandescent light bulbs … lit the 20th century; the 21st century will be lit by LED lamps.” The occasion was the awarding of the Nobel Prize for physics for that year, for an achievement that paved the way for light-emitting diodes (LEDs) to succeed the incandescent bulbs and fluorescent lamps of previous centuries as the world’s light-source of choice.
What are diodes?
A diode is an electronic component about 5 mm wide. It has two points of contact, or terminals, called its anode and cathode. A diode’s primary purpose is to allow current to flow in only one direction. It achieves this using a p-n junction.
