We take the miracle of the lightbulb for granted. We've been doing this for probably almost 100 years now, within a generation or two after the world figured out AC was the way to send power over distance, and the subsequent widespread adoption. But as LEDs get better and studies are done, the old regular lightbulb is going to villainized as an energy hog. Which it is.

A study covered by the NYTimes today drives the point home even further. Done by lightbulb company (of the old and new kind) Osram, it went beyond the typical lumen-per-watt analysis and studied the entire lifecycle, from manufacturing to disposal. And it was damning. Even considering the relative complication of an LED lightbulb's design, the equivalent life of incandescent bulbs are not as green. Five times less green, they say.

I lament every study like this that passes the news wire. Some others are skeptical of LED lightbulbs today, even while believing in the future of them. Maggie Koerth-Baker at Boingboing covers LED lighting as a beat and says that the best lights are commercial—that the 20 dollar kind at Home Depot are basically, a big fat lie. The thousands of hours they're supposed to live are often off by factors of 20, and that throws the whole green equation off, if you assume Osram didn't do real testing of LED life. And I doubt they did since they're the manufacturer of bulbs, but have no data here. Let's believe that for a moment, ignoring the vague conflicts of interest that may exist in a company that sells lightbulbs, even if it sells both. No matter what you say, LED lightbulbs are efficient as hell. And the new and efficient must replace the old.

This desertion of technology where raw energy is being wasted has a side effect of eliminating the beauty that comes from devices closely harnessing and taming the most primal forces. In the last half century, I feel as if we've turned away from wanting to know where untamed power comes from, much like we stopped wanting to know where meat comes from. First the nuke plants went boom in Chernobyl, and then our dreams for a safe, nuclear-powered future go with it. And steam-powered devices, even in play, are ok, as long as we don't talk about the majority of steam powered devices being powered by ugly, sooty coal. Electric cars are seen as far more futuristic, efficient and cool than the muscular cars that harness fire—fire!—in blocks of metal, powered by sipping pickled dinosaur juice. Electric ranges are being used in the most tech'd high end restaurants for sake of control and efficiency, and although BBQ will never die, I would find it hard to argue with the efficiency of electric range if I were building a new home. We think "fire"—smoke or smokeless—is primitive and has no place in our future. Consider this all more man vs nature conflict, where man further tames the wild and natural. And another step in the suppression of an analog world by digital means. This decade, the lightbulb, driven by hot filament so ready to ignite if only it were given oxygen and a chance, finds itself under this same scrutiny. This coming decade will find it a relic and a terrible thing to have around, given a greener alternative.

Somewhere along the line, because of these treehuggers and the energy bean counters and studies obsessed with efficiency, we forgot about how wonderful lightbulbs look. The hot light you'd find in a blacksmith's forge as he hammered away at horseshoes. Or a miniature Sun, (although nothing alike) because of the way the yellow lights brand marks into your eyes if you stare directly at them. Like the fire of a hundred candles, on demand. I like this. But never mind that, the studies say. We will come leaps and bounds forward with LED lightbulbs. For efficiency!

Most of this does not concern me, or move me to object in any way to LED lightbulbs, as much as the thought of LED light itself, so alien, in my house. In wikipedia, we get a description, under the disadvantages of the problems of white LEDs that "spike at 460 nm and dip at 500 nm," causing objects to be "perceived differently under cool-white LED illumination than sunlight or incandescent sources, due to metamerism." I don't know what that means, exactly, but it's easy to imagine and be horrified by the thought of my home filled with the kind of blue/white lighting more appropriate for the bridge of a space ship than the place where my intimate life occurs. I cannot imagine and would not read, make love, bathe, have friends over, eat dinner, listen to music or play with my dogs under LED lighting blue enough to make hospital or high school lighting fixtures look as natural as skylights after sunrise.

The general trend is that LEDs get twice as bright/efficient every 36 months, but brightness is not the issue here. They should stop this research, and focus on whatever it takes to make LED lightbulbs look like they're powered by hot tungsten on the verge of incinerating itself to illuminate our private night lives. That kind of raw power and energy might be a wasteful relic of our past, but quality of glow is something we should be mindful of measuring, too. Lightbulb makers, you should not forget where we came from when building the future.

*OLED lights like this one are supposedly closer to traditional bulbs in quality but if regular LED isn't price or energy efficient yet, um, OLED lights like this one aren't going to be closer.

To ensure they stay upright, there's a magnet placed in the base of the bulb that corresponds to one in the acrylic base. But if you're stylish and safe enough to have an open flame on your desk, you'd better be rich, too—there are only 66 sets available, selling for $650 each. [Craziest Gadgets via Gizmag]

Check out the Instructables guide for details on how to hollow out light bulbs and build the necessary stands without cutting up your hands. There are even some bonus light bulb projects on there.

Now, how about a few "How many ___ does it take to change a light bulb" jokes before you run off to DIY? [Instructables]

(That's no cool-burning LED bulb; there aren't any heat sinks.) [Yanko Design via OhGizmo!]

One visionary has steamrolled Edison's design with this credit card light bulb. Tiny LEDs take the place of fragile incandescents, popping out to spread their light through a murky matrix of plastic and unidentified floating flecks—all of it shaped like our old pal the light bulb.

It'll run you $9 or $10, depending on your crazy gadget retailer of choice. [brando and gadget4all]

Remote-controlled color-changing LED-baed lightbulbs are not new, but the 560-lumen Sharp DL-L60AV has a beautiful classic design and focus on only the white range, allowing you to change its temperature from eight different points.

As a bonus, these lights last for 40,000 hours, consume very little energy—only 4.1 or 7.5 watts, depending on the model—and doesn't attract insects:

These LED lamps emit almost no light in the 350-nm (ultraviolet) waveband that tends to attract insects, thus minimizing dirt and contamination of the lighting fixture from flying bugs and insects

Having experienced the mosquitos in NYC, I can really see that as a major selling point. [Sharp via Impress]

Fitting in a standard bulb socket, the mercury-free Master LED bulb sips just 7W while burning up to 45,000 hours, or about 30x the length of a normal bulb. It's actually already available in parts of Europe (we can't spot a price, anyone out there know? UPDATE: About $50-$70), but with the proper retail availability, I could see an LED light with this form factor exciting the mainstream US public, couldn't you?

Philips also has a few other models coming that you can check out at the link. [Philips via Core77]

This is still just a concept, but it's one of the rare ones that could, with a little ingenuity, plausibly get built. I mean, clappers did, so it sort of has to, right? [NewLaunches]

Our current incandescent and CFL bulbs are super bright and super small, which is why we have to artfully cover them with lampshades or, in my case, a purple silk scarf, because I know what the ladies like. These new OLEDs are substantially dimmer, so they'd be used in large panels to create a softer light. Imagine a windowshade of the new lights, so when lowered at night, light still seems to be filtering in from outside. Or hell, just wallpaper your bedroom in the stuff, since no fixture is required. The caveats: they do, of course, still need a power source, their lifespan isn't up to par, and they're incredibly expensive right now. GE hopes to get the kinks worked out and the panels into production by 2010. [CNN]

Vu1, the company behind the technology, says ESL bulbs don't contain the trace amounts of mercury in CFLs and don't require the manufacturing energy behind LEDs, making it better than both. The first screw in models, which produce 40 lumens per watt with a 6,000 hour lifetime, are expected to be available by September 2008. At $12 a bulb, they cost about the same as dimmable CFLs already on the market. [Vu1 via Cleantechnica]

On a semi plus note, the Load will provide you with 5-hours of light on a single charge, and is made of durable plastic, so chucking it around for funzies is an option. Perhaps I should not knock it too hard, it does look interesting, and it could make for a great prop at a Harry Potter themed party. Hmm, a Harry Potter themed party; would that not be the best themed party idea since dirty Disney house party escapades? Minnie Mouse looked hotter in cartoon form, this much I can assure you. [Yanko Design]

I can understand how they might be livid, but are super anal-retentive rules like this more necessary than we might think? Fluorescent bulbs contain mercury after all, and we all know that represents an element of danger. However, Nick Harvey, the Commission spokesman, said nothing of mercury in his response. Instead, he noted that the guidelines were necessary, because "there had been an incident where a light bulb had been broken and placed in a waste paper bin. Someone had picked it out and cut their finger." So it appears that a portion of the commission's £144 million budget is spent on boo-boo prevention. Nice. [Telegraph via NTDWA via Boing Boing]

Product Page [Via OhGizmo!]