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Blue LEDs win Nobel Prize in physics

Light-emitting diodes have enabled sea change in lighting

Isamu Akasaki (left), Hiroshi Amano (center) and Shuji Nakamura

A BOLT FROM THE BLUE  Isamu Akasaki  (left), Hiroshi Amano (center) and Shuji Nakamura share the 2014 Nobel Prize in physics for developing blue light-emitting diodes.

AP Photo/Meijo Univ.; AP Photo/Kyodo News; Alison McElwee/ Univ. of California, Santa Barbara 

By Andrew Grant

- More than 2 years ago

The invention of blue light-emitting diodes that are central to the energy-efficient lights illuminating homes, offices and electronic displays has earned three scientists the 2014 Nobel Prize in physics.