Bright idea for saving energy wins trio Nobel Prize for Physics

A visiting professor at Hong Kong's University of Science and Technology and two Japanese scientists won the 2014 Nobel Prize for Physics yesterday for inventing a new energy-efficient and environment-friendly light source.

Japanese-born US citizen Shuji Nakamura and Isamu Akasaki and Hiroshi Amano of Japan scooped the prize for developing the blue light-emitting diode (LED) - leading to the creation of modern LED light bulbs, a weapon against global warming.

Lau Kei-may, chair professor at UST's department of electronic and computer engineering, said "devoted scientist" and friend Nakamura was a worthy winner of the coveted prize.

"Discoveries that have more impact to mankind like Dr Charles Kao Kuen [2009 Nobel physics laureate], because he invented fibre optics for [superfast] internet and cyber communications, has had tremendous impact on our daily lives, and so has Professor Nakamura because of his invention 20 years ago," he said.

Another UST professor, Tang Ching-wan, is tipped to win the Nobel Prize for Chemistry today for inventing the organic light-emitting diode, found in televisions and smartphones.

LED lamps are changing the way homes and workplaces are lit, offering a longer-lasting,more efficient alternative to the bulbs pioneered in the 19th century.

"Red and green LEDs have been around for a long time but blue was really missing. Thanks to the blue LED we now can get white light sources which have very high energy efficiency and very long lifetime," Per Delsing, a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, said."Incandescent light bulbs lit the 20th century; the 21st century will be lit by LED lamps," the academy said.