Piddling Around with Homemade PSU....

[Wolfman29]

So I was piddling around with my homemade labby PSU and a yellow LED I got from an old computer....

There were a couple of weird things... firstly:

When I turned up the current (started at like 40mA), it changed colors. At first it was yellow, then it gradually turned orange and then orange red at higher currents.

Secondly - why did it survive so much current? I know LEDs are more hardy, but still - aren't most LEDs designed for only 20-30mA? I fed it over 200mA and it is still functioning.

 

[Cyparagon]

Maybe now it functions via blackbody radiation?

 

[Wolfman29]

Haha. Except... why would it become cooler as we ran more current through it?

 

[jeffreythe00]

IIRC _tesla ran a neon sign transformer arc through a cheapo red diode and it melted the metal leads and it still worked perfectly fine..? It was the weirdest thing I seen.