LEDs are also durable. Being solid-state, they can resist the vibrations in aircraft and cars, according to Narendran, who has worked with Boeing Co on designs for aircraft cabins.
General Electric Co and smaller iLight Technologies of Evanston, Illinois, make glowing LED signs that look like neon.
Neon lighting is a leading cause of fires at restaurants and the signs are vulnerable to vandalism. By contrast, LED signs made of Plexiglas are tough. At the trade show, iLight exhibited an LED sign that still worked after taking a blast from a shotgun.
The limitation: iLight's signs can't be made economically on a one-off basis, as done at small neon-sign shops around the country.
The feature of LEDs likely to propel them into homes is aesthetic, not practical. Arrays that mix red, green and blue LEDs can produce any color of the rainbow. Instead of a dimmer, you might have three sliding knobs that let you mix color.
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