Technology That Won the Nobel Prize in Physics Today That You Probably Already Own

— -- The next time you look at your smartphone in a movie theater or in the middle of the night, just know you're looking at a Nobel Prize winning technology.

Three scientists who discovered the light source that illuminates smartphones and computer screens were awarded the Nobel Prize in physics today for inventing blue light-emitting diodes.

American Shuji Nakamura, along with Japan's Isamu Akasaki and Hiroshi Amano, will share the prize for their groundbreaking discovery, which led to the invention of LED technology, an environmentally friendly and efficient energy source that is used to light up many modern day electronics screens.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said the two decades old discovery "has already contributed to create white light in an entirely new manner to the benefit of us all."

"Incandescent light bulbs lit the 20th century; the 21st century will be lit by LED lamps," the committee said.

The physics award last year was shared by two Belgians and a Briton who helped explain how matter formed after the Big Bang.