Two Elements Used in Fluorescent Lights

Minute Ingredients

• One of the key ingredients to the fluorescent bulb is liquid Mercury. This often works hand-in-hand with a gas, such as argon. When the vacuum-sealed tube is turned on, electrons are passed from one end to the other. These electrons will turn some of the liquid Mercury into gas. The electrons will then begin to excite the Mercury atoms into a different energy level. When atoms return to their natural state, they release a photon.

Phosphor Coating

• When you look at a fluorescent bulb, you might think you're looking at the light produced by mercury; in reality, this light is only ultraviolet light, invisible to the human eye. Instead, what you actually see is the phosphor coating of the bulb. Phosphor powder has a unique attribute in that it glows when light strikes it. In this case, the invisible ultraviolet light strikes the phosphor coating, causing it to produce the bright light that people know as fluorescent lighting.

CFL Advantages

• Compact fluorescent bulbs --- known as CFLs ---offer several advantages over traditional incandescent forms of lighting. The main advantages lay in energy efficiency. The incandescent bulb lasts from 1,000 to 2,500 hours --- not much longer than the original incandescent, invented in the 19th century, lasted. CFL bulbs on the other hand last up to 10,000 hours and are up to 75 percent more efficient. They are also the only practical replacement to incandescent bulbs, as their size roughly matches the incandescent bulb.

Tube Lamps and Circline Lamps

• Circline lamps are an alternative to incandescent desk lamps; these bulbs last up to 12,000 hours. Tube lamps are the most efficient of all fluorescent lights. They come in an 8-foot or 4-foot sizes, and both have the ability to last up to 24,000 hours.