What is a LED Tube Light?

For Waseem Amin, a 14-year-old boy, erratic power supply in the Valley has proved to be a blessing in a disguise, as he has successfully made a "unique inverter" to illuminate his home during power cuts.

 Waseem, a resident of Narwara, Eidgah has successfully developed an inverter which he calls "Unique's Waseem's Unique inverter".

Waseem who is a 9th standard student of  Sheikh Ul Alam Model School says that he has made this device, so that people can get some respite from pesky power cuts which always haunt people.

Giving details about this inverter, Waseem said this inverter is unique as you need to charge it for only 30 minutes and it will give back-up power for 30 hours. On the top of this inverter, LED lights are fixed, besides this inverter also gives 230 volt AC output which can be used for lighting purpose and there are also separate slots for charging mobile phones.

Waseem has used 6 Watt capacity battery in this inverter and other equipments which he has purchased or collected. He says that we can also use bigger battery in order to enhance the performance of the inverter.

"I thought LED lights are very costly and poor people can't afford to purchase them. That is why I decided to use these lights in my inverter, besides I also want to contribute to my people like Thomas Edison did by making bulb," Waseem said.

 He has also made a bulb of 1watt, which according to Waseem is the first of its kind. "This bulb lights requires minimal volt to light. Even watch cell is enough to light this bulb," Waseem said adding that he is working on new project of making generator that will run on water.

"I have prepared thesis for this project, but due to financial constraints I am not able to execute my plans. It requires big dynamo and converters but I can't afford it. Even though my parents have provided me all the equipments I require in my work," he said.

Waseem journey to make this unique inverter was not smooth. He faced many disappointments.

"Few years ago, I went to SKICC where a function was organized for innovators, that time I had made a small fan that will run for 3 hours on being charged for a few minutes. I displayed this fan to audience, where various ministers and bureaucrats were present, but no one paid any attention to me. I felt dejected and out of anger I broke that fan," Waseem, said.

He also plans to continue his work in this field and develop latest technologies which will help poor people in their day to day life.

Muhammad Amin, Waseem's father, a coppersmith, said: "Waseem from his early childhood used to pick electronic items and play with them and sometimes open and do different sorts of things with these equipments."

"Earlier also he has made many electronic gadgets and we always encourage to develop new things him in this field. In our house electricity is available for whole day as he had made many gadgetry which helps to keep our house bulbs illuminating," Amin said.

A large body of research already shows that light does make a difference in both human and animal behavior, ranging from how body rhythms are affected by light to how light helps an animal find food.

Students get better grades and employees are more productive in natural light. And baby pigs gain more weight when there is sufficient light for them to find and suck their mother's milk.

Chickens, which have excellent eyesight, are especially sensitive to light and can be easily riled. The University of Arkansas has been studying the relationship for nearly four years and believes LEDs are helping chickens gain slightly more weight.

Fluorescent lights, which are popular in poultry houses, can flicker, and that upsets chickens and causes them to spend calories. LEDs don't flicker, and that helps chickens relax, said Susan Watkins, a professor and poultry specialist at the school.

"The birds are calmer," she said.

The Oklahoma dairy study involved tracking hundreds of cows who had ear tags or ankle bracelets that electronically transmitted their milk production. One group of cows was in the part of the barn lit with LEDs and an equal number in the part with the fluorescents.

"It was very clear there was an increase in milk production" for the animals under the LEDs, said Ronald Kensinger, a professor of animal science at Oklahoma State at the time of the study.

Kensinger has some theories about the LED boost. LEDs are directional, so more light could be focused on feeding troughs to encourage feeding. Less intense light directed at "loafing areas" in the barn allowed cows to relax.

"The reality is we just don't know, but it's possible that it's less stressful," said Kensinger, who is now head of the animal science department at Ohio State University.

Matthew Waldron, an assistant professor of animal science at the University of Missouri, is skeptical about the findings but would like to find out more. The school is waiting to see whether it will receive a government grant to study the effect of LED lights on dairy cows.

Waldron said a possible problem with the Oklahoma study is that fluorescents underlit certain areas of the dairy barn while the LEDs provided adequate illumination, which other lights can do as well if they are set up properly.

"My gut says that's what they saw in Oklahoma," he said, adding that using university facilities where things can be better controlled would result in a more rigorous followup study.

Waldron said if Missouri gets funding its study could begin later this year.

Sloboda said he welcomed the school's involvement and believes the school can deliver a definitive answer for what is now a serious question: Do LEDs cause cows to produce more milk?

A giant 40 metre illuminated tower will light up the East London skyline when a new 26-acre development is built by Ikea.

Visible for miles, the sculpture which resembles the Olympic Torch, will be lit at night with more than 600 LED lights.

At the flick of a switch, the colour and intensity of the bulbs will be able to change to produce a range of dramatic effects set to dazzle the night sky over London.

The sculpture - which should be finished in July - is being built in new development called Strand East, in Stratford, East London.

It will be made from a simple, wooden lattice of 72 twisted, diagonal laths and 16 horizontal steel rings held together by 32,000 bolts.

The development will be split into five areas each with its own distinctive identity and design approach with the tower rising in the North East Quarter which will focus on creativity and the arts.

Andrew Cobden, spokesman for the development, said: 'We are very excited to see the sculpture going up and the public space at Dane's Yard coming to life.

'It will be a beautiful landmark for the site and we hope local communities will also enjoy it.'

Ikea announced it would be moving into the property business last year when it revealed the new development near the Olympic Park.

Strand East will contain 1,200 new homes, 480,000 square feet of offices and a 350-bedroom hotel in Stratford, east London.

It is the first major British development for LandProp, part of the Inter Ikea Group, which owns the intellectual assets of the furniture chain.

The company is believed to have paid about 25million for the site, which had previously been in receivership.

It is the second biggest private-sector project in the Olympic Park, after the Westfield Stratford City shopping centre which opened last year.

'Not only does it create a new high quality, waterside destination which provides new homes, jobs and leisure facilities, it is a demonstration of investor confidence in the area's future in a difficult market,' Olympic Legacy Minister Bob Neill said.

The development's canalside location has led to it being called a 'mini Venice', and it will boast a boat taxi service and a floating cocktail bar.

He added that although London would be the focus of its UK activities as 'the machine that will always work', the company was already assembling sites in undisclosed locations around the UK.

Marl Optosource's new range of Citizen LEDs is not only its most efficient ever, but also includes what it believes is the world's brightest production LED.

The company is offering new Citizen LEDs in a range of five types with light outputs from 100 lumens to 17,675 lumens, to replace a variety of light sources from a 10W incandescent bulb to a floodlight. The key feature of the range is its exceptional luminous efficiency: they are 40% more efficient than the manufacturer's existing products and achieve 155 lm/W.

With five basic types offering hundreds of different combinations of light level and colour, lighting designers can create a wide variety of lighting effects within a standard luminaire simply by changing the LED insert. Marl is offering a simulation tool to help designers select the best product for their application.

The brightest LED in the range delivers 17,675 lumens, compared to 4,390lm which was the maximum for Citizen's conventional products. This high luminous flux and the exceptional efficiency of the whole range has been achieved by using Citizen's Chip on Aluminium technology to improve heat dissipation, and through careful selection and optimisation of the construction materials.

Commenting, Adrian Rawlinson, Managing Director of Marl, said, "Citizen has been developing LEDs for lighting since 2003, pioneering high wattage LEDs. The company is still a world leader in the field, and Marl is proud to bring this truly exceptional product range to market."

City leaders laid out a plan Wednesday that deals with charging residents for street lights and trees.

Commissioners would still have to approve before the city finalizes the plan.

City officials say with their tight budget, this is the way things are going.

"This community like most communities will have to finance and take actions on our own more and more," says Deputy City Manager Stanley Earley.

Officials want to give residents some brightness for their buck, so while the average Dayton homeowner would pay $26 a year for street lights, the city would use some of that money to switch all the lights to LED's.

"The new LED lights will reduce the cost of electricity by 50 percent and improve the quality of lights," Earley says.

For street trees the average homeowner would pay about $7.50 a month, but the city would use that money to replace trees damaged by the Emerald Ash Borer.

Officials estimate about a quarter of the city's trees could fall victim to the disease.

"The idea is to look at the entire street tree pattern, be able to replace trees as needed and eliminate dying trees," Earley says.

The charges would be included on your property tax bill.

The earliest you could see the tree assessment is 2014, but the street light one could happen as soon as next year.

New Energy Technologies, Inc and NREL scientists collaboratively developing New Energy's SolarWindow technology - capable of generating electricity on see-through glass - have successfully collected and transported electricity using a virtually 'invisible' conductive wiring system developed for SolarWindow. The ability to transport electricity on glass windows while remaining see-through is especially important to the eventual deployment of an aesthetically pleasing commercial product.
 
Currently under ongoing development, the conductive system's ultra-fine grid-like pattern is deposited on to SolarWindow(TM) and is rendered virtually invisible when viewing objects through New Energy's electricity-generating glass. Researchers anticipate that a fully functional system could help transport the electricity generated on glass surfaces, improving power, efficiency, and overall performance of the SolarWindow(TM).
 
This announcement follows last month's breakthrough when New Energy Technologies and NREL scientists successfully fabricated the largest-area organic photovoltaic module produced at the United States Department of Energy's
National Renewable Energy Laboratory.The scientists fabricated a large area working module, more than 14-times larger than previous OPV devices fabricated at NREL.

The prospect of generating electricity on SolarWindow is made possible when researchers creatively layer and arrange unique, ultra-small see-through solar cells on to glass. Each of these cells are arranged in a network and interconnected by way of the 'invisible' grid-like wiring system. Until now, such systems used in early prototypes were relatively thick and bulky, and applied to glass in ways that obstructed light, prevented the absorbance of light energy necessary to produce electricity, and significantly reduced transparency.
 
The 'invisible' wiring system is important for allowing more efficient collection and transport of electrons, both important for improving circuit current and overall efficiency. The system helps mitigate electrical 'road-blocks,' which restrict the flow of electrons with regions of high resistance, by creating a kind of low-resistance 'highway' for electron transport; without the benefit of a conductive grid system, resistive losses can significantly reduce power production. A fully functional and optimized system could improve the reliability of SolarWindow(TM) by providing a stable network of connections among each of the interconnected solar cells on the see-through glass.
 
Scientists demonstrated numerous features of the SolarWindow(TM), including its ability to remain see-through while generating electricity. Both natural and artificial light were used in demonstrations to generate electricity. At the demonstration event, scientists powered lights on a scale-model house by exposing the window to artificial light from fluorescent lamps, mimicking lighting typically installed inside offices. According to the scientists, in artificial light SolarWindow technology outperforms today's commercial solar and thin-films by as much as 10-fold under low-intensity irradiance.
 
Researchers then repeatedly opened and closed the boardroom's window shades, successfully powering LED lights each time SolarWindow was exposed to natural light. This demonstration mimicked outdoor exposure such as sunlight on the exterior face of commercial buildings. Importantly, scientists also demonstrated SolarWindow's ability to generate 'voltage' and 'current' necessary to power lighting and mechanical devices and appliances. In addition to lighting, scientists successfully powered the mechanical rotor blades of a small helicopter using only a single, small-scale SolarWindow(TM) prototype during their public demonstration.

The Capital Development Authority (CDA) plans to acquire a loan for execution of the long-pending Light Emitting Diodes (LED) project to replace the existing streetlights system for energy saving purposes.

Rs 6.5 billion are needed for the implementation of the LED lights project.

The official said the Authority is planning to launch the project by taking a Cash Development Loan (CDL) after consulting the Ministry of Finance.

A firm named Oslo has shown interest in providing loan amounting to Rs 4.9 billion to CDA to launch the project, while the authority would take another loan from the federal government to pay its part of Rs 1.6 billion, the official said.

In a recently held CDA board meeting, a three-member committee headed by Planning Member, has been asked to compile, once again, a detailed report on the project and present it to the board in the upcoming meeting.

The official said CDA is exploring the options to conserve electricity and decrease the huge cost incurred on operating streetlights in the federal capital.

Replacement of the existing conventional lights with LED lights would save 52 percent of the Authoritie’s energy requirements, which will reduce a load of 8.32 MW on the national grid. Earlier, the CDA chairman, engineer Farkhand Iqbal said that the current energy shortage in the country either increasing the energy production or reduce consumption.

CDA is managing around 65,000 conventional streetlights in Islamabad, adding a load of 16MW on the national grid and incurring an annual expense of over Rs 1.2 billion, which is growing every year.

Iqbal said that as per figures, electricity cost has increased by 29 percent over the last three years and the trend is expected to continue.

The chairman has said that the life of proposed LED lights is more than 20 years and the project, if implemented, will reduce by 52 percent the Authority’s energy requirement every year, which will reduce a load of 8.32MW on the national grid and will save about 42,263MW per annum. The electricity savings and savings from repairs and maintenance on existing lighting infrastructure, of first 10 years will be used to repay the investment.

There were stories of fishes granting wishes and rattlesnakes losing their rattles.

There were discussions on the intricacies of chocolate and the best sugar to use when baking cookies.

There were paper rockets flying through the air and children trying to make night lights from binding clips, lithium batteries and plastic cups.

And there were oceans of people flooding the University of Arizona Mall, hoping to hear a great tale and maybe meet their favorite authors.

The fourth annual Tucson Festival of Books began Saturday with readings, author discussions, music performances and local food.

The festival continues today from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at the UA Mall - and by the time it ends, it will have hosted an expected 100,000 book lovers hearing 450 authors and panelists and seeing more than 250 exhibitors.

"You're getting to see the authors whose books you've actually read and put a voice to what you're reading," said Sue Ellen Schuerman, who was waiting in line to see author Lisa See.

The auditorium filled to capacity before Schuerman could get a seat. But she found an upside in the disappointment: The festival is proof, she said, that people still love books.

"A lot of people say reading is dead," she said. "This shows you that's not true."

Korbin Edge, 9, stood on the grass in the middle of the Mall, proud of his accomplishment.

He had made a night light with two plastic cups, two LED lights and a lithium battery. It was another step on his path toward becoming an electrical engineer.

"I like engineering because you get to actually make motors and lights like I just did," he said. "I actually got to make something."

At the Kino School tent, Dorian Mogge, 9, concentrated on his "stomp" rocket.

Dorian, and other children and adults, made the paper devices and stuck them into a tube attached to a soda bottle. Someone would stomp on the bottle, making the rocket fly.

Dorian tried to improve his rocket so it would fly farther.

"The problem was with the wind, plus I saw air holes," said Dorian, a student at the school. "When it came down, a piece flexed upward like a wing."

When asked how that affected the rocket's flight, he couldn't find the words to explain it in detail.

"It's kind of hard to understand," he said.

You think you've seen it all and then a video starts going viral that provides you some shock and awe that you just can't believe. That's exactly what happened when a video produced by Jacob Sutton a film producer and professional film maker caught a new type of trendy snowboarding gear built with LED lights.

Sports enthusiasts and people into winter sports are starting to ask and wonder where they can get the same type of snowboarding gear that glows. The video was filmed in the French Alps of snowboarder William Hughes as he cuts and scrapes through the side of the legendary French Alps.

So what is the mysterious glow going on with Mr. Hughes snowboarding gear? It's an L.E.D. light suit that is combined with all of Williams normal snowboarding jacket, snowboard pants, snowboard and his normal facemask. The LED's blast through the snow in a bright glow that is eery and beautiful as Mr. Hughes carves deep into the snow and out of tight turns.

We've provided the video below that you can watch. The video has racked up nearly 442,000 views and is destined to hit a million soon as it's viral attraction is spreading fast. Some of the top comments on this video are: "Everyone is in bed. The lights are out. I am watching this full screen. I cannot believe the emotional impact this is having on me. The editing, music, the glowing figure in slow motion. Quite simply, beautiful." and "Who the hell would dislike this?"

The video was uploaded on YouTube by tb303meets606 and description of the video provides some insights into how this amazing video was made. The description is as follows:

Fashion photographer and filmmaker Jacob Sutton swaps the studio for the slopes of Tignes in the Rhone-Alpes region of south-eastern France, with a luminous after hours short starring Artec pro snowboarder William Hughes.

The electrifying film sees Hughes light up the snow-covered French hills in a bespoke L.E.D.-enveloped suit courtesy of designer and electronics whizz John Spatcher. "I was really drawn to the idea of a lone character made of light surfing through darkness," says Sutton of his costume choice. "I've always been excited by unusual ways of lighting things, so it seemed like an exciting idea to make the subject of the film the only light source."

Sutton, who has created work for the likes of Hermes, Burberry and The New York Times, spent three nights on a skidoo with his trusty Red Epic camera at temperatures of -25C to snap Hughes carving effortlessly through the deep snow, even enlisting his own father to help maintain the temperamental suit throughout the demanding shoot.

"Filming in the suit was the most surreal thing I've done in 20 years of snowboarding," says Hughes of the charged salopettes. "Luckily there was plenty of vin rouge to keep me warm, and Jacob's enthusiasm kept everyone going through the cold nights."

One of the things people are looking to add to their homes in 2012 is LED lighting, according to Light IQ.

Natalie Timmerman, spokeswoman for the independent lighting consultancy, explained that LED lights were, in comparison to halogen and incandescent light sources, more efficient and longer lasting.

"The life expectancy of good quality LEDs is quoted as 50,000 hours and beyond, equivalent to 15-20 years in a residential environment," she said.

"This is good during the darker months as lighting can be left on continuously without fear of using too much power. LED Technology is advancing every day, it has come a long way in the last two to three years and it is becoming more and more affordable."

Ms Timmerman added that consumers should keep their "eyes peeled" on emerging technologies in LED lighting.

This includes, for example, organic LEDs, which she said could revolutionise the way lighting is experienced.

"However this technology is still at the early stage and it will become commercially available only in a few years," she concluded.

People looking to declutter their homes but don't want to get rid of their belongings are advised to use a self storage unit.

RCA said today at CES that it will manufacture LED bulbs as part of a larger home theater announcement. The company said that it developed a "chip on a board" that uses a single efficient LED light source, rather than several smaller ones. That design optimizes the energy efficiency of the bulb, said Bob Hatefi of RCA licensee BDC in a statement.

As energy-efficient lighting standards take hold in the U.S. and around the world, expect more electronics companies moving deeper into consumer LED lighting. Late last year, for instance, Samsung introduced a line of LED spotlights and a snowcone-shape A19 bulb for sale in the U.S.

TV maker Vizio, meanwhile, is also working on its line of LED bulbs for the U.S. which the company says will have a "Vizio price." Panasonic already manufacture LEDs for Japan and Toshiba started selling its A19 LED through BestBuy's Web site last month.

Dedicated lighting companies are also going to be at CES. Switch Lighting will be showing off its line of LED bulbs, expected to be generally available later this year, with the brightest able to give off as much light as a 100-watt incandescent.

Like the TV and thermostat, LED bulbs are starting to become network-ready. Marvell today introduced a wireless chip set designed to make commercial LED fixtures controlled from a single point.

Being able to control multiple lights from a tablet or smart phone is a neat feature for smart-home enthusiasts. But the added expense of wireless networking in LED bulbs, which already cost between $15 and $40, means it may be a while before we see low-cost networked LED bulbs.

On Saturday, thousands of Dallas Cowboys fans descended on the parking lots outside Cowboys Stadium to take part in a not so traditional Christmas Eve.

"We're part of the Christmas, part of the holiday spirit, but yet, we gotta root the Cowboys on," said Peter Mollett.

"It's still Christmas, even though it's the Cowboys game, but we still celebrate Christmas," said Matt Roach.

What does that mean?  For starters, forget about Santa's red and white hat, Saturday was all about the blue and white.  In fact, the Cowboys Santa hat was so popular, the Cowboys gave it out as their present to fans.

Also different: Instead of a Christmas ham, how about a Christmas hot dog?  Or instead of Eggnog, how about beer as the alcohol of choice?

There were open fires, but not in a fireplace but in a grill.  The traditional Christmas Eve dinner at the family table was even thrown out the window this year.

"We're going to have our table right here, we're going to watch the Cowboys," said Mollett as he showed CW 33 News his tailgating tent.

Christmas music was the choice music for tailgating outside the stadium, and instead of a few hundred LED lights on your house, this Christmas Eve, how about 30 million LED lights powering the big screen inside the stadium.

Instead of caroling around the neighborhood, folks were using their vocal cords to cheer on the Cowboys.  And finally, everyone wanted to ask Santa for just one thing: No, not an iPad 2 or Let's Rock Elmo, but for a Cowboys win.

"A Cowboys win, definitely," said Mollett.

"Cowboys tickets, and a win," said Aaron Thornburg.
 
"A Cowboys win and a Giants loss," said Roach.

It just so happened that Santa was a Cowboys fan.  CW 33 News found Santa roaming the tailgates in Cowboys colors instead of his traditional suit.

"It's Christmas and it's Cowboys, so I got my Cowboys Santa suit on to try and bring some Christmas cheer and a Cowboys victory," said Santa.

Santa said he could watch the game and still get presents to everyone.

"We are still going to have Christmas, tomorrow morning.  Kids will open the gifts," Santa told CW 33 News.

He said he would work hard to get that Cowboys win.

"I'm going to do my best.  I'm going to yell and scream and holler," said Santa.