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Fluorescent Lights |
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Fluorescent Light |
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How Fluorescent Lights work |
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Fluorescent lights are one of the most commonly used and manufactured kind of lights, aside from the incandescent light. Fluorescent lights are used everywhere from warehouses to street lights. They are so popularly used because they emit such a bright light and don't produce as much unwanted heat as ordinary light bulbs. The light is created from chemical reactions that take place when different gases inside the bulb hae electricity applied to them. The electricity is passed through the bulb (tube) that is filled with a small amount of mercury and an inert gas Light photons are produced by energized mercury atoms. These photons emit mostly UV waves that the eye is incapable of viewing but they emit some visible light photons. Since the majority of photon light produced is invisible it is necessary to convert the energy into visible light. This is done by a phosphor coating. When phosphors are exposed to light, they emit light. This coating around the bulb absorbs the UV light and emits visible light. The fluorescent lights use the visible light produced AND the nonvisible UV light (which is made visible as well from the phosphors). These lights use all of the light that they produce and therefore make them more efficient. |
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Image from http://cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml03/03145c.jpg |
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Fluorescent Light Bulb |
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Return to Homepage |
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Basics |
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Color |
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Black Lights |
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Chemical Reactions & Light |
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Halogen Lights |
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Image from www.buylighting.com |
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