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An LED needs to be a diode, specifically because the way the charge carriers recombine in the forward-biased diode junction releases the correct amount of energy to create photons in the visible range.

The word 'releases' in the sentence throws me off, but I'm not sure if it's an error in the sentence or on my part.

How I would write it:

An LED needs to be a diode, specifically because of the way the charge carriers, recombined in the forward-biased diode junction, release the correct amount of energy to create photons in the visible range.

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  • I parse it as belonging to the way. The way releases. So the sentence is fine in that regard, but yeah it can be phrased in a much less confusing manner, and probably should if you have any say in that.
    – RegDwigнt
    Commented Oct 13, 2018 at 17:22
  • Looks ok to me grammatically. You could read as: the reaction (of the charge carriers) releases the correct amount of energy.
    – S Conroy
    Commented Oct 13, 2018 at 18:00
  • Releases is grammatically correct because it refers to way, but the sentence itself is poorly worded. A light emitting diode is by definition a diode. It requires a specific type of doping to create the zone where electrons can combine with holes to create photons in the visible range. Your alternative with release sounded better to my ears, but it might sound even better with recombining instead of recombined, since it’s the action of recombining that changes the state of the atomic system and releases the photon.
    – user205876
    Commented Oct 14, 2018 at 14:55

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It seems grammatical to me. The subject of "releases" is "the way that ... ".

I think your concern is that it is the recombining that releases the energy, not some abstract "way". But I read it that the way they recombine ensures that they release the correct amount of energy.

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  • Yes. They may recombine in a different way and release a different amount of energy.
    – Andrew Leach ♦
    Commented Oct 13, 2018 at 17:35
  • Thanks for your answer. If the subject is "the way that", should the author not use "release" instead of "releases", as they are referring to "charge carriers" (plural)?
    – Anon
    Commented Oct 13, 2018 at 17:38
  • Sorry, ignore my previous comment, I understand now.
    – Anon
    Commented Oct 13, 2018 at 17:41

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