What it means. Benevolent tsunami puts a 180-degree spin on a term with devastating destructive impact—witness the cataclysmic December 26, 2004, Indian Ocean tsunami—and associates it with something intended to have a widespread positive, uplifting effect. Light-emitting diodes, or LEDs, could produce a benevolent tsunami, according to two professors at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute:

"Deployed on a large scale, LEDs have the potential to tremendously reduce pollution, save energy, save financial resources, and add new and unprecedented functionalities to photonic devices. These factors make photonics what could be termed a benevolent tsunami, an irresistible wave, a solution to many global challenges currently faced by humanity and will be facing even more in the years to come," wrote Jong Kyu Kim, Ph.D., and E. Fred Schubert, Ph.D., in a paper about solid-state lighting recently published in Optics Express.

Why the buzz? In recent years, compact fluorescent lightbulbs have become a replacement in many applications for energy-hungry incandescent lightbulbs. Today, LEDs, which can provide substantial energy savings since they're much more efficient than incandescents and CFLs, are poised to become more mainstream. Kim and Schubert are convinced that smart lighting in the form of LEDs might also foster a technological revolution in fields like agriculture, health care, and transportation.

Communications is another area where smart lighting could shine. Smart brake lights on a car would indicate an emergency-braking maneuver to the vehicle behind it, envision Kim and Schubert. Or smart room lights would broadcast messages, alarms, and other key information. The possibilities, say Kim and Schubert, are limited only by the imagination.—Kimberly Janeway

Essential information: Learn how Dean Kamen, inventor of the Segway scooter and other forward-thinking devices, outfitted his home with LEDs.