Look up at the ceiling above you, and chances are there is a
centuries-old piece of kit swinging from a cord. The light bulb
has been hanging around for more than 150 years. Yet between its
invention and the present day, its design has hardly changed.
But now the days of the traditional incandescent bulb look
numbered. These electricity-sapping glass orbs have fallen out
of favour with environmentally-conscious governments and
consumers. And waiting in the wings is a new breed of hi-tech
light based on the humble LED (light-emitting diode), the small
lights found in everything from TV remote controls to bike
lights. Not only do they promise to solve the bulb’s
environmental woes, their backers say they will also respond
intelligently to your surroundings and even influence the way we
behave. “LEDs are about to change the way we see things
forever,” says Tim Holt, chief executive of Strathclyde
University's Institute of Photonics in Scotland. “We are only
just at the start of the LED lighting revolution.” Alre