This is not about a glowing wallpaper created with Photoshop. This is about a real glowing wallpaper that could replace lamps for lighting homes and offices.
Although the idea may sound ludicrous, the Government's Carbon Trust is so excited by the prospect it has awarded Lomox, a Welsh company £454,000 ($720,000) to develop flexible films that could replace traditional lights, which is inspired by the thin OLED televisions just now beginning to hit the market.
"Lighting is a major producer of carbon emissions," said Mark Williamson, director of innovations at the Carbon Trust. "This technology has the potential to produce ultra-efficient lighting for a wide range of applications, tapping into a huge global market."
If glow in the dark wallpaper catches on, it could pave the way for other devices around the home - including light-emitting curtains, colour changing clothes and even luminous pet accessories.
It's the latest use for "Organic Light Emitting Diodes or OLEDs" - the technology that is expected to revolutionise flat screen televisions, computer monitors and mobile phone screens in the next few years.
OLEDs are made of thin films of organic molecules that light up when electricity passes through them. Because they needs a very low operating voltage - just three to five volts - they can be powered by solar panels or batteries.
And because they exist as a thin layer of film, they can be rolled up, bent or fixed to a wall.
Lomox Limited is a start-up company from North Wales and is founded for around two years.
Ken Lacey, chief executive of LOMOX Ltd, which is attempting to bring the technology to the market, said the company planned to make OLED lights within two years, as soon as 2012.
OLEDs have been around for several years - but remain expensive. They are difficult to use in large displays, and still have a short lifetime.
Mr Lacey said his company was developing new types of OLEDs that were cheaper and longer lasting.
'In a light you can put it anywhere. You can paint it on a wall or wallpaper,' he said.
The technology could be used to make flexible screens that could be rolled up after use, or carried into a presentation, while it would also provide an effective alternative to outside lighting with traditional lights, he said.
Via - Daily Mail
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