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- [Narrator] Behold, the
light-emitting diode, or LED.
But where did it come from?
Meet Nick Holonyak, Jr.,
born in Illinois in 1928.
Although Nick was born in the US,
his parents had immigrated from
from the Carpathian Mountains of Europe.
During Nick's childhood, his father
traveled widely, working
primarily as a miner.
Nick was the first member of his family
to receive formal schooling.
Eventually, Nick earned a
Ph.D. in electrical engineering
from the University of Illinois.
During this time, he worked with
Dr. John Bardeen, who later
co-invented the transistor.
Over the course of his career,
Nick has made numerous discoveries,
improvements and breakthroughs,
but he's best known for one invention
that outshines the rest, the
light-emitting diode, or LED.
But, what is it exactly?
First, let's start with the diodes.
Diodes are simple semi-conductors,
and the conductor material is
usually aluminum-gallium-arsenide.
The flow of electrons in this material
can produce light more efficiently
than a traditional incandescent bulb.
LEDs last much longer than light bulbs,
and they produce much less heat.
For this achievement,
Nick is sometimes known
as the father of the light-emitting diode.
As subsequent researchers
revised his invention,
the LED has spread out from
labs at General Electric
to countries, cities and
homes throughout the planet.
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