Could the traditional filament light bulb, with its comforting warm glow, make a comeback? That is the prospect raised by a team in the US, who say they’ve found a way of using nanotechnology to make the bulbs more eco-friendly. Edison bulbs heat a thin tungsten wire to a temperature of 2,700°C, but 95% of the energy produced is “wasted” as heat. As a consequence, the bulbs are being phased out in the EU and elsewhere, and replaced by compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs) and light-emitting diode bulbs (LEDs), which are more efficient but emit a colder, harsher light. Now, scientists at MIT are developing technology that could make the old bulbs more efficient than their new rivals. This involves surrounding the filament in a structure made from tiny crystals designed to reflect the “wasted” infrared wavelengths – but not the desired visible ones – back onto the wire, to be re-absorbed and re-emitted as visible light. They call it “light recycling”. (The Week)

This is good news. I am for one sort-of used now to CFLs, but the light they emit is not very attractive, and for some reason it is difficult to find greater than 60 watt bulbs where I live. Moreover, if you have recessed lighting (I know this isn’t common, but we have it) the coiled bulbs don’t fit the recess. Whoever designed them didn’t do their homework. I suppose we should be thankful that we have electric light in our homes, but new, efficient bulbs that give off a warm, more natural light will be welcome.