An ordinary light bulb works with a tungsten filament in an airless chamber, or a certain gas filling. Does a light diode work on the same principle?
Answer
No, the principle of a Light Emmiting Diode is fundamentally different from that of a light bulb. An LED consists of two different semiconductors that are brought together. These semiconductors ensure that we conduct in one direction and isolate in the other direction (the diode function). When electrons flow through one semiconductor material to another semiconductor material, the electrons lose energy because they move from a material at a high potential to a material at a lower potential. The energy that the electrons have in excess leaves the system as photons and thus as emitting light.
Answered by
Alan Collas
Structural chemistry
Prinsstraat 13 2000 Antwerp
http://www.uantwerpen.be
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