Isamu Akasaki

Hello! My name is Isamu Akasaki, and I was a scientist. Ever since I was little, I loved to look at all the bright, colorful lights in the world. I would see a glowing lamp or a colorful sign and wonder, “How does that work?”. Being a scientist is a lot like being a detective. A detective solves mysteries, and a scientist solves puzzles about how things in our world are made and how they work. I wanted to solve the puzzle of light.

I had a very big puzzle I wanted to solve. People had already made red lights and green lights, but no one had been able to make a bright blue light. It was the missing piece! I worked very hard for a long, long time to figure it out. It was like trying to build a tricky tower of blocks that kept falling down. I had to try over and over again. Then, one day in 1989, I did it! I finally made a beautiful, glowing blue light. I felt so happy that my hard work had created something new and wonderful.

My little blue light was very important. Do you know why? When you mix my blue light with red and green lights, you can make a bright, clean white light. This special white light is used today in so many things around you. It helps light up your home in lamps, and it makes the pictures glow on phone screens and TVs all over the world. I lived to be 92 years old, and I am so happy that my invention still helps make the world a brighter place for everyone to enjoy.