Material:LEDs

MaterialInfoBox LEDs
Synonyms:	light emitting diodes, "led"; DE: Leuchtdioden
Suggested Tools:	soldering irons, diagonal pliers

LEDs are a cheap and efficient way to light up your projects but keep in mind that they usually need a current limitation and are always polarized (straight side/short leg = negative).

Diffusion

An easy and cheap way to diffuse the individual bright spots into relatively uniform areas of light is to add some kind of paper between your LEDs and the viewer.

LED Strips

MaterialInfoBox LED Strips
Synonyms:	LED stripes, tape lights; DE: LED-Streifen, LED-Bänder, Lichtbänder, "LED-Leisten"
Suggested Tools:
Contains:	flexible PCB, LEDs

LED strips are pre-assembled linear LED arrays that are popular for lighting furniture or DIY projects. There are fancy ones available where you can control the intensity and color of each LED independently with a microcontroller such as an Arduino.

Useful Links

• "Intro to LED Strips" on Instructables
• tutorial on RGB LED strip control by Adafruit
• "Expertenwissen LED-Streifen" von Conrad (DE)

Further Reading

• Make: Component of the Month 2016/6 - LEDs and Diodes
• Wikipedia
  • Light emitting diode (EN)
  • Leuchtdiode (DE)