Blue LED inventors win physics Nobel prize
Blue LED inventors win physics Nobel prize
A trio of scientists in Japan and the US creditied for for the invention of blue light emitting diodes (LEDs) has been awarded The 2014 Nobel Prize for physics.
The blue LEDs developed by Professors Isamu Akasaki, Hiroshi Amano and Shuji Nakamura helped produce bright, energy-efficient white light sources.
Making the announcement, representatives of the Nobel Foundation emphasised the usefulness of the invention, adding that the Nobel Prizes were established to recognise developments that delivered “the greatest benefit to mankind”.
“These uses are what would make Alfred Nobel very happy,” said Professor Olle Inganas, a member of the prize committee from Linkoping University.
The committee chair, Prof Per Delsing, from Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, emphasised the winners’ dedication.
“What’s fascinating is that a lot of big companies really tried to do this and they failed,” he said. “But these guys persisted and they tried and tried again – and eventually they actually succeeded.”