Will aluminum foil replace the incandesent bulb?

http://www.livescience.com/technology/070613_aluminumfoil_lamps.html

If it works, is will definately be better for the environment then fluorescent.

Like so many new discoveries, this is many, many years from practical application, unfortunately. But it looks promising.

But I think we all agree that CFLs are only a problem ridden, stopgap measure in what needs to be a BIG push to cut electrical use worldwide, for all of the obvious reasons.

The article didn't seem to address the question of power savings.

The article didn't address a whole lot of things, like what makes the light? Ionised gas? Nothing to ionise it. Really hot aluminium oxide? It melts at 2054°C, so any light would be very red. Besides, aluminium oxide is a thermal and electrical insulator. How many volts do these lamps run on?

From here, it seems to run on snake oil. (very environmentally friendly, as snakes are natural)

How bout reliability? Dont see anything about how long a unit like the one in the article can last.

There appears to be more data available through a Google search.

According to this article, "Values exceeding 30 lumens per watt are expected when the array design and microcavity phosphor geometry are optimized." While I realize it's still an emerging technology, I must admit I find it difficult to be optimistic about it's future when compared to the inexpensive T8 fluorescents lighting my garage, which give ~80 lumens/watt. I wish the experimentors, inventors, and investors well.

I'd like a screen for the bathroom skylight that gives me a "skylight" that works at night, too. :buddies: