LED is an acronym for "Light emitting diodes" and the technology is based on electroluminescence. All semiconductor devices that emit light in one direction.
The technology was discovered way back in the early 1900s, but not until the middle of the century, which boosted the trend. Among the first to develop the technology was amongst others a Japanese named Nichia which today is one of the leading semiconductor manufacturers in the market. Among the products are the gu10 socket led
Throughout the 70s and 80s produced LED in yellow, green and red and they are starting to use it for signal lamps.
In 1993 developed the first LED in the blue spectrum which is the basis for making the white diode we know today.
Since then development has blown start browsing and we are faced today with a technology that can actually replace some of the old familiar lamp types but only much more energy efficient. It's pretty well-timed since it is precisely in the coming decades, our planet needs us humans reduce our energy consumption drastically.