which illumination is best

i have looked at leds which are measured by lum/w
lasers which are measured in watts
and flashes which measure in watts,joules and WS (whatever that is)


but which of theses is most efficent, ie output photons per energy unit??

Generally fluorescents were the most efficient for white light, but I think some of the new high efficiency LEDs are approaching or even exceeding them. I just bought some 11W LED recessed ceiling lights that put out more light than the 15W compact fluorescents that were originally there.

I am curious to do 2 things, first is for an array for an propeller screen, like the clocks, but i fear not choosing a led bright enough. how do i choose!!

also i wonder about things like pumping dyes, could a focused led array drive better than a laser diode? or flash lamp?

i may have asked this before, but can a led survive high power pulsing if it is fast enough?

Your questions are really too general for a specif answer. You need to narrow down your requirements.

I don't know what "pumping dyes" are.

An Led may survive high power pulsing but the light output is not linear with current so you don't gain much by doing that.

pumping dyes like using a xeon lamp with a yag rod, it was just a thought,
but i wonder how many leds it would it take to produce the light of a camera flash, and if it could compare in efficency after matching the spectrum of course