mercury atoms
DIY – Lighting, Incandescent or Fluorescent
For many years the pros and cons of incandescent versus fluorescent lights have been described. With the addition of CFL (Compact Fluorescent Lights), LED and other technologies the debate has shifted somewhat. But, first, some elementary science…
Incandescent bulbs acquired the name because what they do is, in essence, burn (i.e. incandesce, or glow with heat). A thin tungsten filament sits inside a partial vacuum. Electricity passes through the wire and, because it offers resistance to the flow of electrons, it heats up. Quickly, the temperature rises enough to make the metal glow.
The interior of the incandescent bulb is usually coated with a diffusing material to cut down on the bright glare of a clear, glass bulb. Though, of course, there are many clear glass lightbulbs around. That doesn’t alter the basic way the bulb operates, but it does change the look.
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Fluorescent Light Bulbs Over Regular Light Bulbs
A regular yellow light bulb is also known as the incandescent light bulb. These light bulbs utilize a thin layer that is made of tungsten. When the electricity passes through this layer, it heats up until it becomes fully hot. This heat produces the light coming from the bulb. Aside from the light, the bulb also produces plenty of heat. Technically, this is a waste of energy. The attempt to reduce this waste of energy resulted to the creation of the fluorescent lamp. These light bulbs are energy efficient. Unlike the regular light bulb, fluorescent lamps do not use tungsten to produce light.
A fluorescent light bulb utilizes a different process to produce light. It uses electrodes on both ends of the tube of a fluorescent bulb. A river of electrons flows in the gas from one electrode to another one. These tiny electrons collapse in the mercury atoms and ignite them. As the mercury atoms alternate from ignition to inactive state, they produce ultraviolet photons. These particles called photons bumps into the phosphor coating of the tube of the fluorescent bulb. This phosphor activity produces the visible light. A fluorescent light bulb can produce the light equivalent of four to six incandescent light bulbs. For example, a 20 watt fluorescent light bulb gives of the same amount of light as an 80 watt incandescent light bulb.
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What is Fluorescent Lighting?
Understanding how fluorescent light tubes work begins with a basic understanding of how light is produced. The basic unit of light is the light photon, which is released by an atom when its electrons become energized. As you may know, electrons are negatively charged particles that orbit around an atom’s positively charged nucleus. Electrons have different levels of energy, and move when energy is gained or lost by the atom. When heat passes energy to an atom, electrons quickly shift to another orbital, and almost instantaneously jump back to their original positions. As the return jump takes place, extra energy can be released in the form of a light photon, thus creating light.
Tags: atoms electrons, fluorescent light bulbs, fluorescent light tubes, incandescent light bulbs, mercury atoms
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