infared led and detector? can it be used in place of an led and ldr?

[funkbass187]

i just recently got a job at radioshack and i noticed they had infared LED's and Detectors. they com together in a box and appear to just be two LED's. i was jsut wondering if the two would serve the same purpose as an LED and LDR. i doubt it would work, but i was just curious if any of you know.

[R.G.]

The detector is probably a phototransistor. Not too interchangeable with an LDR.