The International Commission on Illumination (CIE) is a global non-profit organization dedicated to advancing knowledge and standardization in lighting. The CIE Research Strategy 2023 outlines key research priorities for advancing the science and application of light and lighting. The Research Strategy identifies critical topics for researchers to study to support future CIE reports and [...]

  The NAHB’s “What Home Buyers Really Want” study surveyed home buyer preferences for technology features in new homes. Here are the key findings and trends: Top Technology Features The study revealed that home buyers prioritize technology features that enhance energy efficiency and improve safety: Programmable thermostat (78% rated as essential/desirable) Security cameras (76%) Video [...]

  Optogenetics is a scientific field and set of tools that shines light on genetically modified cells to activate channels within the cells to make them more or less active. The light is often introduced with surgically implanted optical fibers through which laser light is passed into highly targeted regions containing the genetically modified cells. [...]

  By Dr. Jonathan Melman & David Shiller Japanese researchers led by Osaka University have published the discovery of a family of significantly more efficient organic, rare-metal-free, phosphorescent materials: thienyl diketones. Room temperature phosphorescence (RTP) without using rare metals has been an area of intense research. Most commercial RTP materials today utilize iridium or platinum, [...]

  A group of German researchers have created a new metamaterial that is more transparent than glass, diffuses sunlight, adds privacy, is anti-reflective, self-cleaning, reduces glare, and increases radiative cooling. The new thin film is a polymer-based micro-photonic multi-functional metamaterial or PMMM, that can be applied onto a pane of glass. The impressive collection of [...]

The first of two new rare sky glow phenomena was videoed in 2017, over Southwest Canada. It appeared closer to the equator than where auroras normally occur, and was a different color……purple! Auroras are red, blue, and green. This first new sky glow was dubbed STEVE, for Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement. After deeper investigation [...]

The American Lighting Association Engineering Committee recently received a presentation from the “Flicker Queen,” researcher Naomi Miller, at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). Ms. Miller provided a summary of her latest research at PNNL on temporal light modulation (TLM), more commonly known as flicker. She and PNNL colleagues completed a human subjects study on the [...]

In March of 2023, LightNOW posted about translucent concrete. Today’s story is about a new translucent concrete made with recycled glass instead of optical fibers, fly ash, metallurgical slag, and water filtration sewage sludge to eliminate all cement from the concrete. Using all of these industrial waste materials makes the product extremely green and lower [...]

Graphene has long been hailed as the greatest material discovery with limitless potential. The reality is that graphene has seen some limited applications in electronics, solar panels, displays, clothing, helmets, bullet-proof armor, aircrafts, and shoes. I’ve written about graphene’s emergence in luminaire heat sinks and housings here. There are two new nanomaterial sheets making headlines: [...]