The Simplest Circuit

LED DETECTS LIGHT

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All LEDs give off light of a particular colour but some LEDs are also able to detect light. Obviously they are not as good as a device that has been specially made to detect light; such as solar cell, photocell, photo resistor, light dependent resistor, photo transistor, photo diode and other photo sensitive devices.
A green LED will detect light and a high-bright red LED will respond about 100 times better than a green LED, but the LED in this position in the circuit is classified as very high impedance and it requires a considerable amount of amplification to turn the detection into a worthwhile current-source.

All other LEDs respond very poorly and are not worth trying.

The accompanying circuit amplifies the output of the LED and enables it to be used for a number of applications.

The LED only responds when the light enters the end of the LED and this makes it ideal for solar trackers and any time there is a large difference between the dark and light conditions. It will not detect the light in a room unless the lamp is very close.
 

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