THE LED THE SELF DESTRUCTIVE DIVA OF ELECTRONICS
Let's talk about how stupid the traditional lightbulb is. Thomas Edison invented a device that is 95% SPACE HEATER and 5% "oh yeah, light as a side effect."
It works by taking a metal wire and making it SO HOT that it glows. That's the entire plan. Heat until glow. It's like trying to read a book by setting your house on fire.
But then... we invented the LED. Light Emitting Diode. Cool to the touch. Lasts forever. Comes in every color of the forbidden rainbow.
There's just one tiny problem: LEDs have the survival instinct of a lemming with a death wish. Connect it wrong? Dead. Too much voltage? Dead. Look at it funny? Believe it or not, also dead.
Today, we're learning how to keep this self-destructive diva alive long enough to actually produce light. Let's start with the "D" word.
