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This is how I remember it: For some time LEDs were red, yellow or green. Power LEDs were almost universally red. You can see this on devices from the homecomput
by weinzierl 3y ago
This is how I remember it: For some time LEDs were red, yellow or green. Power LEDs were almost universally red. You can see this on devices from the homecomputer era (Amigas, Ataris, etc.). I'm not sure if red was chosen for technical reasons (red LEDs have the lowest voltage drop), maybe economical reasons or it was already a convention before LEDs became available.
Anyway, when blue LEDs became feasible they were the epitome of cool and every device had to have them. So in my opinion it was a fashion trend that stuck.
- wlonkly 3y ago> the epitome of cool I remember being wowed by the blue power LEDs on VA Linux servers in the early or mid 2000s! Now any stock photo of a server room is covered with blue lights.
- analog31 3y agoIndeed, red was the first visible LED color to be practical in production. Blue came much later.
- btbuildem 3y agoBlue LEDs were deemed a huge breakthrough at the time; they enabled full-colour LED displays (think large panels viewed from a distance) by adding the long-missing B in the RGB.
- wlonkly 3y agoEnough of a breakthrough to be worthy of a Nobel prize, even: https://medium.com/predict/why-blue-led-earned-nobel-prize-if-reds-and-greens-already-existed-for-decades-d03e31a6fd8f https://medium.com/predict/why-blue-led-earned-nobel-prize-i...
- analog31 3y agoIndeed, and they are also the basis of single element white LEDs, which are a blue led covered by a white phosphor. The inventor of the bright blue led worked for a chemical company that made phosphors, and invented the white one as well.
- cryptonector 3y agoThey also enabled bueray DVDs.