A surface-area light source that employs the principle of electroluminescence to produce light. Light panels are composed of two sheets of electrically conductive material, one a thin conducting backing and the other a transparent conductive film, placed on opposite sides of a plastic or ceramic sheet impregnated with a phosphor, such as zinc sulfide, and small amounts of compounds of copper or manganese. When an alternating voltage is applied to the conductive sheets, an electric field is applied to the phosphor. Each time the electric field changes, it dislodges electrons from the edges of the phosphor crystals. As these electrons fall back to their normal atomic state, they affect the atoms of the slight “impurities” of copper or manganese, and radiation of the wavelength of light is emitted.