RAS question
LED (Light Emitting Diode) technology earned which scientists the 2014 Nobel Prize in Physics?
Correct answer: (A) Isamu Akasaki, Hiroshi Amano, and Shuji Nakamura.
Isamu Akasaki, Hiroshi Amano and Shuji Nakamura won the 2014 Nobel Prize in Physics for inventing efficient blue light-emitting diodes, which enabled bright, energy-saving white light sources.
Explanation
The 2014 Nobel Prize in Physics went jointly to Isamu Akasaki, Hiroshi Amano and Shuji Nakamura for the invention of efficient blue light-emitting diodes. The key point is not just the LED as a device, but the blue LED: according to the Nobel citation, it enabled bright and energy-saving white light sources. For the exam, the relevant mechanism is that white LEDs are made by combining a blue LED with a yellow phosphor coating. This made practical white LED lighting possible, with far lower energy use than incandescent bulbs; LED lighting consumes 90% less energy than incandescent lighting.
Why the other options are wrong
- (B) Albert Einstein, Niels Bohr and Max Planck are associated with foundational quantum physics, not with the 2014 Nobel citation for efficient blue light-emitting diodes.
- (C) Enrico Fermi, Robert Oppenheimer and Lise Meitner belong to the nuclear-physics context, whereas this prize recognised the inventors of efficient blue LEDs.
- (D) Thomas Edison, Nikola Tesla and Graham Bell were earlier inventors, not the three scientists named by NobelPrize.org for the 2014 Physics Nobel.
Concept
This tests everyday applications of semiconductor physics, especially how a specific materials breakthrough in blue LEDs made white LED lighting practical. RAS often revisits such Nobel-linked technologies because they connect basic science with energy-efficient public-use technology.