One problem in developing more efficient organic LED light bulbs and
displays for TVs and phones is that much of the light is polarized in
one direction and thus trapped within the light-emitting diode, or LED.
University of Utah physicists believe they have solved the problem by
creating a new organic molecule that is shaped like rotelle –
wagon-wheel pasta – rather than spaghetti.
The rotelle-shaped
molecule – known as a “pi-conjugated spoked-wheel macrocycle” – acts the
opposite of polarizing sunglasses, which screen out glare reflected off
water and other surfaces and allow only direct sunlight to enter the
eyes.
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| Images of molecules for light-emitting diodes on the left are compared with similar shaped pasta on the right. The upper left electron microscope image shows spaghetti-shaped organic polymers now used for organic light-emitting diodes, or OLEDs. The lower left image shows new molecules -- created by scientists at the University of Utah and two German universities -- that are shaped like wagon-wheel or rotelle pasta and emit light more efficiently than the spaghetti-shape polymers. (Credit: Molecule images by Stefan Jester, University of Bonn. Pasta images courtesy Wikimedia Commons. Wagon wheel pasta image has been released into the public domain by its author, Fazalmajid at the English project. Spaghetti image has been licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license) |
Credit: University of Utah