LED to the Light

I brought lightbulbs from the U.S. in my suitcase. They’re constructed of almost unbreakable plastic and boast a life of over 10,000 hours. They produce pleasant warm-white light in ample quantities, with little heat and a 1000 hour operating cost of about 96 cents. They are a tremendous improvement over the fragile glass, energy-sucking, heat-belching incandescent lights of my youth. LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) are revolutionizing the way we do light.
 
In 1962, Nick Holonyak, Jr. produced the first LED in the visible-light spectrum. It was not the first LED, that was produced in 1927. The reason we haven’t heard much about that inventor is because the light was in the infrared spectrum invisible to the human eye. At that time, there was no practicable use for an infrared LED, but we now we use it every time we pick up a TV remote.
 
It took eighty years getting from that first LED to a reliable, consumer friendly lightbulb. Holonyak may have been the first to glimpse the future. He said when his LED glowed red that he “saw the light.” He saw that there would be a revolution in how we light our world.
 
Consider these two Biblical references to light …
 
For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. 2 Corinthians 4:6
 
The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. Revelation 21:23
 
There is an ultimate revolution coming in how the world is lit. I know it must come or we will be plunged into irreparable and utter darkness. I don’t know how far in the future it is, but I’ve seen the first installment and I long for it’s coming. I long for His Advent. Come quickly Lord Jesus!
 
 

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