OMG, I just saw an INFRARED LED light up!!?!?!!

[MWink]

I bought a Radio Shack High-Output Infrared LED to replace one in a VCR. I was trying to see if it worked by hooking it to a battery and looking at it with my digital camera (which can see infrared light). I could not get it to work. I tried a 1.5V battery and a 9V. About the fifth time with the 9V I saw it light up WITH MY BARE EYES! What did I see??? Did I just watch it burn up or was it something else? Now I'm spooked!

 

[stonythug]

get down on your knees and pray, no one has seen an INFRARET LED light up and live.

 

[iamwiz82]

nope, everyone dies. Here are the symptoms. First, its the panic that your eye burned out, then you stumble around your home, dazed. Third, you walk out your door and into traffic. Boom, you get hit by a car. Our prayers are with you.

 

[GreenBeret]

No. It lights up to let you know it's working (pretty sure)

 

[Entity]

I'd be more concerned that you have bear eyes than anything else. The wonders of modern medicine...

Rob

 

[sharkeeper]

That LED was probably an 880 nM device. It puts out enough visibile light to be faintly visible to the human eye. The spectral response of human eyes cuts off at about 715 nM or so, but if the source is intense enough, you will still see it. LED's are fairly polychromatic compared to coherent laser diodes as well. The uncollimated radiation is harmless to the eyes.

As far as the LED goes, hooking a 9V battery up to it destroyed the junction completely! The flash you observed was an electrical arc when the wire melted.

Cheers!

 

[JoLLyRoGer]

Like Sharkeeper said. Next time try to stay around 5v. Also keep in mind that an LED is still a diode and there for in order for it to emit light proper bias must be observed.

JR..