LEDs may be great for spotlights, Christmas decorations and sheep adornment, but they do have their drawbacks. Laserlike LEDs are always on high beam (thus those blinding headlights). They light but they don’t illuminate. Organic LEDs (OLEDs), on the other hand, do. Already a TV-lover’s fantasy, OLEDs are flat light sources, only as thick as their substrates.

However, as films replace thicker substrates like glass, OLEDs could become even thinner, more versatile and a whole lot cheaper, according to Optik & Photonik. Scientific American speculates that it will become possible to create not only illuminated ceiling panels out of flexible OLEDs, but energy-efficient, translucent windows.

While I wouldn’t mind if my cubicle window gave off a soft glow as the sun set, any OLED technology is, as of now, well outside of most consumers’ budgets.