Fluorescent lamp
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[[Image:Fluorescent lamps artistic.jpg|thumb|300px|Fluorescent lamps]]
[[Image:Leuchtstofflampen-chtaube050409.jpg|300px|thumb|Assorted types of fluorescent lamps. Top, two [[Compact fluorescent lamp]]s, bottom, two regular tubes. Matchstick shown for scale.]]
[[Image:tanninglamp.jpg|thumb|300px|Typical F71T12HO 100W bi-pin lamp used in tanning beds. Note (Hg) symbol indicating it contains mercury. In the US this symbol is now required on all fluorescent bulbs that contain mercury.]]
A '''fluorescent lamp''' or '''fluorescent tube''' is a [[gas-discharge lamp]] that uses [[electricity]] to excite [[mercury (element)|mercury]] [[vapor]]. The excited mercury atoms produce short-wave [[ultraviolet]] light that then causes a [[phosphor]] to [[fluorescence|fluoresce]], producing [[Light|visible light]].
Unlike [[incandescent lamp]]s, fluorescent lamps always require a [[electrical ballast|ballast]] to regulate the flow of power through the lamp. However, a fluorescent lamp converts electrical power into useful light more efficiently than an incandescent lamp; lower energy costs offsets the higher initial cost of the lamp. While larger fluorescent lamps have been mostly used in large commercial or institutional buildings, the [[compact fluorescent lamp]] is now being used as an energy-saving alternative to incandescent lamps in homes. Compared with incandescent lamps, fluorescent lamps use less power for the same amount of light, generally last longer, but are bulkier, more complex, and more expensive than a comparable incandescent lamp.
==History==
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===Physical discoveries===
The history of the fluorescent lamp begins with early research into [[electrical]] phenomena. By the beginning of the 18th century, experimenters had observed a radiant glow emanating from partially evacuated glass vessels through which an electrical [[current]] passed. Little more could be done with this phenomenon until 1856 when a German glassblower named [[Heinrich Geissler]] (1815–1879) created a mercury [[vacuum]] pump that evacuated a glass tube to an extent not previously possible. When an electrical current passed through a [[Geissler tube]], a strong green glow on the walls of the tube at the cathode end could be observed.
Because it produced some beautiful light effects, the Geissler tube was a popular source of amusement. More important, however, was its contribution to scientific research. One of the first scientists to experiment with a Geissler tube was [[Julius Plücker]] (1801–1868) who systematically described in 1858 the luminescent effects that occurred in a Geissler tube. He also made the important observation that the glow in the tube shifted position when in proximity to an [[electromagnetic]] field.
Inquiries that began with the Geissler tube continued as even better vacuums were produced. The most famous was the evacuated tube used for scientific research by [[William Crookes]] (1832–1919). That tube was evacuated by the highly effective mercury vacuum pump created by [[Hermann Sprengel]] (1834–1906). Research conducted by Crookes and others ultimately led to the discovery of the [[electron]] in 1897 by [[J. J. Thomson]] (1856–1940). But the [[Crookes tube]], as it came to be known, produced little light because the vacuum in it was too good and thus lacked the trace amounts of gas that are needed for electrically stimulated [[luminescence]].
[[A. E. Becquerel|Alexandre Edmond Becquerel]] observed in 1859 that certain substances gave off light when they were placed in a Geissler tube. He went on to apply thin coatings of luminescent materials to the surfaces of these tubes. Fluorescence occurred, but the tubes were very inefficient and had a short operating life. A few years earlier another scientist, [[George G. Stokes]] (1819–1903), had noted that [[ultraviolet]] light caused [[Fluorite|fluorspar]] to fluoresce, a property that would become critically important for the development of fluorescent lights many decades later.
===Early discharge lamps===
While Becquerel was primarily interested in conducting scientific research into fluorescence, [[Thomas Edison]] (1847–1931) briefly pursued fluorescent lighting for its commercial potential. He invented a fluorescent lamp in 1896 which used a coating of [[calcium]] tungstate as the fluorescing substance, excited by [[X-rays]], but although it received a patent in 1907<ref> U.S. Patent 865367 ''Fluorescent Electric Lamp'' </ref>, it was not put into production. As with a few other attempts to use Geissler tubes for illumination, it had a short operating life, and given the success of the incandescent light, Edison had little reason to pursue an alternative means of electrical illumination.
[[Nikola Tesla]] made similar experiments in the 1890's, devising high frequency powered fluorescent bulbs that gave a bright greenish light, but as with Edison's devices, no commercial success was achieved.
Although Edison lost interest in fluorescent lighting, one of his former employees was able to create a gas-based lamp that achieved a measure of commercial success. In 1895 [[Daniel McFarlan Moore]] (1869–1933) demonstrated lamps 7 to 9 feet in length that used [[carbon dioxide]] or [[nitrogen]] to emit white or pink light, respectively. As with future fluorescent lamps, they were considerably more complicated than an incandescent bulb.
After years of work, Moore was able to extend the operating life of the lamps by inventing an electromagnetically controlled valve that maintained a constant gas pressure within the tube. Although Moore’s lamp was complicated, expensive to install, and required very high voltages, it was considerably more efficient than incandescent lamps, and it produced a more natural light than incandescents. From 1904 onwards Moore’s lighting system was installed in a number of stores and offices. Its success contributed to General Electric’s motivation to improve the incandescent lamp, especially its filament. GE’s efforts came to fruition with the invention of a [[tungsten]]-based filament. The extended lifespan of incandescent bulbs negated one of the key advantages of Moore’s lamp, but GE purchased the relevant patents in 1912. These patents and the inventive efforts that supported them were to be of considerable value when the firm took up fluorescent lighting more than two decades later.
At about the same time that Moore was developing his lighting system, another American was creating a means of illumination that also can be seen as a precursor to the modern fluorescent lamp. This was the [[Mercury (element)|mercury]] [[vapor]] lamp, invented by [[Peter Cooper Hewitt]] (1861–1921) and patented in 1901 (U.S. Pat. No. 889,692). Cooper-Hewitt’s lamp luminesced when an [[electric]] current was passed through mercury vapor at a low pressure. Unlike Moore’s lamps, those made by Cooper-Hewitt could be manufactured in standardized sizes and operated at low [[voltages]]. The mercury-vapor lamp was superior to the incandescent lamps of the time in terms of energy efficiency, but the blue-green light it produced limited its applications. It was, however, used for photography and some industrial processes.
Mercury vapor lamps continued to be developed at a slow pace, especially in Europe, and by the early 1930s they received limited use for large-scale illumination. Some of them employed fluorescent coatings, but these were primarily used for color correction and not for enhanced light output. Mercury vapor lamps also anticipated the fluorescent lamp in their incorporation of a ballast to maintain a constant current.
Cooper-Hewitt had not been the first to use mercury vapor for illumination, as earlier efforts had been mounted by Way, Rapieff, Arons, and Bastian and Salisbury. Of particular importance was the mercury vapor lamp invented by Küch in [[Germany]]. This lamp used quartz in place of glass to allow higher operating temperatures, and hence greater efficiency. Although its light output relative to electrical consumption was better than other sources of light, the light it produced was similar to that of the Cooper-Hewitt lamp in that it lacked the red portion of the spectrum, making it unsuitable for ordinary lighting.
===Neon lamps===
The next step in gas-based lighting took advantage of the luminescent qualities of [[neon]], an inert gas that had been discovered in 1898. In 1909 [[Georges Claude]] (1870–1960), a French chemist, observed the red glow that was produced when running an electric current through a neon-filled tube. He also discovered that [[argon]] emitted a blue glow. While neon lighting was used around 1930 in France for general illumination, it was no more energy-efficient than conventional incandescent lighting. Neon lighting came to be used primarily for eye-catching signs and advertisements. Neon lighting was not irrelevant to the development of fluorescent lighting, however, as Claude’s improved electrode (patented in 1915) overcame “sputtering”, a major source of electrode degradation. Sputtering occurred when ionized particles struck an electrode and tore off bits of metal. Although Claude’s invention required [[electrodes]] with a lot of surface area, it showed that a major impediment to gas-based lighting could be overcome.
The development of the neon light also was significant for the last key element of the fluorescent lamp, its fluorescent coating. In 1926 [[Jacques Risler]] received a French patent for the application of fluorescent coatings to neon light tubes. The main use of these lamps, which can be considered the first commercially successful fluorescents, was for advertising, not general illumination. This, however, was not the first use of fluorescent coatings. As has been noted above, Edison used calcium tungstate for his unsuccessful lamp. Other efforts had been mounted, but all were plagued by low efficiency and various technical problems. Of particular importance was the invention in 1927 of a low-voltage “metal vapor lamp” by Friedrich Meyer, Hans-Joachim Spanner, and [[Edmund Germer]], who were employees of a German firm in [[Berlin]]. A German patent was granted but the lamp never went into commercial production.
===Commercialization of fluorescent lamps===
All the major features of fluorescent lighting were in place at the end of the 1920s. Decades of invention and development had provided the key components of fluorescent lamps: economically manufactured glass tubing, inert gases for filling the tubes, electrical ballasts, long-lasting electrodes, mercury vapor as a source of luminescence, effective means of producing a reliable electrical discharge, and fluorescent coatings that could be energized by ultraviolet light. At this point, intensive development was more important than basic research.
In 1934, [[Arthur Compton]], a renowned physicist and GE consultant, reported to the GE lamp department on successful experiments with fluorescent lighting at [[General Electric Company plc| General Electric Co., Ltd.]] in Great Britain (unrelated to General Electric in the United States). Stimulated by this report, and with all of the key elements available, a team led by George E. Inman built a prototype fluorescent lamp in 1934 at General Electric’s [[Nela Park]] (Ohio) engineering laboratory. This was not a trivial exercise; as noted by Arthur A. Bright, “A great deal of experimentation had to be done on lamp sizes and shapes, cathode construction, gas pressures of both argon and mercury vapor, colors of fluorescent powders, methods of attaching them to the inside of the tube, and other details of the lamp and its auxiliaries before the new device was ready for the public.”
In addition to having engineers and technicians along with facilities for R&D work on fluorescents, General Electric controlled what it regarded as the key patents covering fluorescent lighting, including the patents originally issued to Cooper-Hewitt, Moore, and Küch. More important than these was a patent covering an [[electrode]] that did not disintegrate at the gas pressures that ultimately were employed in fluorescent lamps. This invention had been created by Albert W. Hull of GE’s Schenectady Research Laboratory, and was registered as U.S. Pat. No. 1,790,153.
While the Hull patent gave GE a basis for claiming [[legal]] rights over the fluorescent lamp, a few months after the lamp went into production the firm learned of a U.S. patent application had been filed in 1927 for the aforementioned "metal vapor lamp" invented in Germany by Meyer, Spanner, and Germer. The patent application indicated that the lamp had been created as a superior means of producing ultraviolet light, but the application also contained a few statements referring to fluorescent illumination. Efforts to obtain a U.S. patent had met with numerous delays, but were it to be granted, the patent might have caused serious difficulties for GE. At first, GE sought to block the issuance of a patent by claiming that priority should go to one of their employees, Leroy J. Buttolph, who according to their claim had invented a fluorescent lamp in 1919 and whose patent application was still pending. GE also had filed a patent application in 1936 in Inman’s name to cover the “improvements” wrought by his group. In 1939 GE decided that the claim of Meyer, Spanner, and Germer had some merit, and that in any event a long interference procedure was not in their best interest. They therefore dropped the Buttolph claim and paid $180,000 to acquire the Meyer, et al. application, which at that point was owned by a firm known as Electrons, Inc. The patent (U.S. Pat. No. 2,182,732) was duly awarded in December 1939. This patent, along with the Hull patent, put GE on what seemed to be firm legal ground, although it faced years of legal challenges from [[Sylvania]] Electric Products, Inc., which claimed [[infringement]] on patents that it held.
Even though the patent issue would not be completely resolved for many years, General Electric’s strength in manufacturing and marketing gave it a pre-eminent position in the emerging fluorescent light market. Sales of "fluorescent lumiline lamps" commenced in 1938 when four different sizes of tubes were put on the market. During the following year GE and [[Westinghouse Electric Corporation (1886)|Westinghouse]] publicized the new lights through exhibitions at the [[New York World’s Fair]] and the [[Golden Gate Exposition]] in San Francisco. Fluorescent lighting systems spread rapidly during World War II as wartime manufacturing intensified lighting demand. By 1951 more light was produced in the United States by fluorescent lamps than by incandescent lamps.
==Principles of operation==
The fundamental means for conversion of electrical energy into radiant energy in a fluorescent lamp relies on [[inelastic scattering]] of electrons. An incident electron collides with an atom in the gas. If the free electron has enough [[kinetic energy]], it transfers energy to the atom's outer electron, causing that electron to temporarily jump up to a higher [[energy level]]. This is why the collision is called 'inelastic,' as some of the energy is transferred.
This higher energy state is unstable, and the atom will emit an ultraviolet [[photon]] as the atom's electron reverts to a lower, more stable, energy level. Most of the photons that are released from the mercury atoms have [[wavelength]]s in the ultraviolet part of the spectrum. This is not visible to the human eye, so must be converted into visible light. This is done by making use of [[fluorescence]]. Ultraviolet photons are absorbed by electrons in the atoms of the lamp's fluorescent coating, causing a similar energy jump, then drop, with emission of a further photon. The photon that is emitted from this second interaction has a lower energy than the one that caused it. The chemicals that make up the phosphor are chosen so that these emitted photons are at wavelengths visible to the human eye. The difference in energy between the absorbed ultra-violet photon and the emitted visible light photon goes to heat up the phosphor coating.
===Construction ===
[[Image:Germicidal Lamp 2.jpg|thumb|right|Close-up of the cathodes and anodes of a [[germicidal lamp]] (an essentially-similar design that uses no fluorescent phosphor (known chemically as a fluorophor), allowing the electrodes to be seen.)]]
[[Image:Germicidal UV discharge tube glow.jpg|thumb|right|The unfiltered ultraviolet glow of a [[germicidal lamp]] is produced by a low pressure mercury vapor discharge (identical to that in a fluorescent lamp) in an uncoated fused quartz envelope.]]
A fluorescent lamp tube is filled with a [[gas]] containing low pressure mercury vapor and [[argon]], [[xenon]],[[neon]], or [[krypton]]. The pressure inside the lamp is around 0.3% of atmospheric pressure. The inner surface of the bulb is coated with a [[fluorescent]] (and often slightly [[phosphorescence|phosphorescent]]) coating made of varying blends of [[metal]]lic and [[rare-earth]] [[phosphor]] [[salt]]s. The bulb's cathode is typically made of coiled [[tungsten]] which is coated with a mixture of barium, strontium and calcium oxides (chosen to have a relatively low [[thermionic emission]] temperature).
When the light is turned on, the electric power heats up the cathode enough for it to emit electrons. These electrons collide with and ionize [[noble gas]] atoms in the bulb surrounding the filament to form a [[Plasma (physics)|plasma]] by a process of [[impact ionization]].
As a result of [[electron avalanche|avalanche ionization]], the conductivity of the ionized gas rapidly rises, allowing higher currents to flow through the lamp. The mercury is then likewise ionized, causing it to emit light in the [[ultraviolet]] (UV) region of the spectrum predominantly at [[wavelength]]s of 253.7 [[nanometres|nm]] and 185 nm.
The efficiency of fluorescent lighting owes much to the fact that low pressure mercury discharges emit about 65% of their total light in the 254 nm line (another 10–20% of the light is emitted in the 185 nm line). The UV light is [[absorption (electromagnetic radiation)|absorbed]] by the bulb's fluorescent coating, which re-[[radiate]]s the energy at longer wavelengths to emit [[visible light]]. The blend of phosphors controls the [[color]] of the light, and along with the bulb's [[glass]] prevents the harmful UV light from escaping.
===Electrical aspects of operation===
Fluorescent lamps are [[negative differential resistance]] devices, so as more current flows through them, the electrical resistance of the fluorescent lamp drops, allowing even more current to flow. Connected directly to a constant-[[voltage]] mains power line, a fluorescent lamp would rapidly self-destruct due to the uncontrolled current flow. To prevent this, fluorescent lamps must use an auxiliary device, a [[electrical ballast|ballast]], to regulate the current flow through the tube; and to provide a higher voltage for starting the lamp.
While the ballast could be (and occasionally is) as simple as a [[resistor]], substantial power is wasted in a resistive ballast so ballasts usually use an [[inductor]] instead. For operation from AC mains voltage, the use of simple [[magnetic ballast]] is common. In countries that use 120 [[volt|V]] [[alternating current|AC]] mains, the mains voltage is insufficient to light large fluorescent lamps so the ballast for these larger fluorescent lamps is often a step-up [[transformer|autotransformer]] with substantial [[leakage inductance]] (so as to limit the current flow). Either form of inductive ballast may also include a [[capacitor]] for [[power factor correction]].
Many different circuits have been used to start and run fluorescent lamps. The choice of circuit is based on factors such as mains voltage, tube length, initial cost, long term cost, instant versus non-instant starting, temperature ranges and parts availability, etc. The names of these different circuits vary by country and this can cause confusion. For example, ''pre-heat'' in this context has valid but different meanings in the US and elsewhere.
Fluorescent lamps can run directly from a [[Direct current|DC]] supply of sufficient voltage to strike an arc. The ballast must be resistive, and would consume about as much power as the lamp. When operated from DC, the polarity of the supply to the lamp must be reversed every time the lamp is started; otherwise, the mercury accumulates at one end of the tube. Currently, fluorescent lamps are almost never operated directly from DC; instead, an [[inverter]] converts the DC into AC and provides the current-limiting function as described below for electronic ballasts.
For line operation, ballasts may employ [[transistor]]s or other [[semiconductor]] components to convert mains voltage into high-[[frequency]] [[alternating current|AC]] while also regulating the current flow in the lamp. These are referred to as "[[Electronics|electronic]] ballasts", and take advantage of the higher efficacy of lamps operated with higher-frequency current.
===Flicker===
Fluorescent lamps operated on AC will flicker at twice the mains frequency, since the power being delivered to the lamp drops to zero twice per cycle (120 Hz or 100 Hz). If the lamp has a magnetic ballast, this may also emit a humming sound. Magnetic ballasts are usually filled with a tarry potting compound to reduce emitted noise. Both the hum and flicker are eliminated in lamps which use a high-frequency electronic ballast, such as the increasingly popular [[compact fluorescent lamp]].
In some circumstances, fluorescent lamps operated at mains frequency can also produce flicker at the mains frequency (50 or 60 Hz) itself, which is noticeable by more people. This can happen in the last few hours of tube life when the cathode emission coating at one end is almost run out, and that [[cathode]] starts having difficulty emitting enough [[electron]]s into the gas fill, resulting in slight [[Rectifier|rectification]] and hence uneven light output in positive and negative going mains cycles. Mains frequency flicker can also sometimes be emitted from the very ends of the tubes, as a result of each tube electrode alternately operating as an [[anode]] and [[cathode]] each half mains cycle, and producing slightly different light output pattern in anode or cathode mode. Flicker at mains frequency is more noticeable in the [[peripheral vision]] than it is in the center of gaze.
New fluorescent lamps may show a twisting spiral pattern of light in a part of the lamp. This effect is due to loose cathode material and usually disappears after a few hours of operation.<ref> General Electric ''Fluorescent Lamps TP 111R'', Dec. 1978, page 22 </ref>
===Efficacy===
The [[Efficacy#Lighting|efficacy]] of fluorescent tubes ranges from about 16 lumens/watt for a 4 watt tube with an ordinary ballast to as high as about 100 lumens/watt for a 32 watt tube with modern electronic ballast, commonly averaging 50 to 67 lm/W overall. Most compact fluorescents 13 watts or more with integral electronic ballasts achieve about 60 lumens/watt. Due to phosphor degradation as they age, the average brightness over the entire service life is actually about 10% less. Lamps are rated by lumens after 100 hours of operation.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://members.misty.com/don/|title=Light and Lighting Facts and Bits of Data!|author=Klipstein, Donald L.|accessdate=2007-12-29}}</ref> For a given fluorescent tube, a high-frequency electronic ballast gives about 10% efficacy improvement over an inductive ballast.
===Starting===
[[Image:Flourescent Light.svg|thumb|A ''preheat'' fluorescent lamp circuit using an automatic starting switch. A: Fluorescent Tube, B: Power (+220 Volts), C: Starter, D: Switch (Bi-metallic thermostat), E: Capacitor, F: Filaments, G: Ballast)]]
[[Image:New_GE_Ballast.JPG|thumb|230V ballast for 18-20W]]
[[Image:Starterp.jpg|thumb|A ''preheat'' fluorescent lamp "starter" (automatic starting switch)]]
The mercury atoms in the fluorescent tube must be ionized before the arc can "strike" within the tube. For small lamps, it does not take much voltage to strike the arc and starting the lamp presents no problem, but larger tubes require a substantial voltage (in the range of a thousand volts).
In some cases, that is exactly how it is done: ''instant start'' fluorescent tubes simply use a high enough voltage to break down the gas and mercury column and thereby start arc conduction. These tubes can be identified by
# a single pin at each end of the tube, and
# the lampholders that they fit into having a "disconnect" socket at the low-voltage end to ensure that the mains current is automatically removed so that a person replacing the lamp cannot receive a high-voltage [[electric shock]].
In other cases, a separate starting aid must be provided. Some fluorescent designs (''preheat lamps'') use a combination [[Electrical_filament|filament]]/[[cathode]] at each end of the lamp in conjunction with a mechanical or automatic switch (see photo) that initially connect the filaments in series with the ballast and thereby preheat the filaments prior to striking the arc. This is the oldest type of fluorescent lamp.
These systems are standard equipment in 240 V countries (and for 120 V lamps up to about 30 watts), and generally use a glow starter. Before the 1960s, four-pin thermal starters and manual switches were also used. Electronic starters are also sometimes used with these electromagnetic ballast fittings.
The automatic glow starter shown in the photograph consists of a small gas-discharge tube, containing neon and/or argon and fitted with a [[Bi-metallic strip|bi-metallic]] electrode. The special bi-metallic electrode is the key to the automatic starting mechanism.
When starting the lamp, a glow discharge will appear over the electrodes of the starter. This glow discharge will heat the gas and cause the bi-metallic electrode to bend towards the other electrode. When the electrodes touch, the two filaments of the fluorescent lamp and the ballast will effectively be switched in series to the supply voltage. This causes the filaments to glow and emit electrons into the gas column by [[thermionic emission]]. In the starter's tube, the touching electrodes have stopped the glow discharge, causing the gas to cool down again. The bi-metallic electrode also cools down and starts to move back. When the electrodes separate, the [[inductive kick]] from the ballast provides the high voltage to start the lamp. The starter additionally has a [[capacitor]] wired in parallel to its gas-discharge tube, in order to prolong the electrode life.
Tube strike is reliable in these systems, but glow starters will often cycle a few times before letting the tube stay lit, which causes objectionable flashing during starting. The older thermal starters behaved better in this respect. Once the tube is struck, the impinging main discharge then keeps the filament/cathode hot, permitting continued emission.
If the tube fails to strike, or strikes but then extinguishes, the starting sequence is repeated. With automated starters such as glowstarters, a failing tube will thus cycle endlessly, flashing as the starter repeatedly starts the worn-out lamp, and the lamp then quickly goes out as emission is insufficient to keep the cathodes hot, and lamp current is too low to keep the glowstarter open. This causes flickering, and runs the ballast at above design temperature.
Some more advanced starters time out in this situation, and do not attempt repeated starts until power is reset. Some older systems used a thermal overcurrent trip to detect repeated starting attempts. These require manual reset.
Newer ''rapid start'' ballast designs provide filament power windings within the ballast; these rapidly and continuously warm the filaments/cathodes using low-voltage AC. No inductive voltage spike is produced for starting, so the lamps must usually be mounted near a grounded (earthed) reflector to allow the glow discharge to propagate through the tube and initiate the arc discharge.
Electronic ballasts often revert to a style in-between the preheat and rapid-start styles: a capacitor (or sometimes an autodisconnecting circuit) may complete the circuit between the two filaments, providing filament preheating. When the tube lights, the voltage and frequency across the tube and capacitor typically both drop, thus capacitor current falls to a low but non-zero value. Generally this capacitor and the inductor, which provides current limiting in normal operation, form a [[resonance|resonant]] circuit, increasing the voltage across the lamp so it can easily start.
Some electronic ballasts use programmed start. The output AC [[frequency]] is started above the resonance frequency of the output circuit of the ballast; and after the filaments are heated, the frequency is rapidly decreased. If the frequency approaches the [[resonant frequency]] of the ballast, the output voltage will increase so much that the lamp will ignite. If the lamp does not ignite, an electronic circuit stops the operation of the ballast.
Beginning in the 1990s a new type of ballast came into the mainstream, with a more expensive but significantly more efficient design: high frequency operation. These newer design high frequency ballasts have been used with either rapid start or pre-heat cathode/anode style lamps (with pins shorted at the lamp end), and use high frequency to excite the mercury within the lamp. These newer electronic ballasts convert the 50 or 60 Hertz coming into the ballast to an output frequency in excess of 100 kHz. This allows for a more efficient system that generates less waste heat and requires significantly less power to light the lamp, and operates in a rapid starting manner. These are used in several applications, including new generation [[tanning lamp]] systems, whereby a 100 watt lamp (i.e., F71T12BP) can be lighted using 65 to 70 watts of actual power while obtaining the same lumens as traditional ballasts at full power. These operate with voltages that can be almost 600 volts, requiring some consideration in housing design, and can cause a minor limitation in the length of the wire leads from the ballast to the lamp ends. These ballasts run just a few degrees above ambient temperature, which is partly why they are more efficient and allows them to be used in applications that would be inappropriate for hotter running electronics.
===End of life===
The end of life failure mode for fluorescent lamps varies depending how they are used and their control gear type. There are three main failure modes currently, and a fourth which is starting to appear:
====Emission mix====
[[Image:Thermionic filament.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Closeup of the filament on a low pressure mercury gas discharge lamp showing white thermionic emission mix coating on the central portion of the coil. Typically made of a mixture of [[barium]], [[strontium]] and [[calcium]] oxides, the coating is sputtered away through normal use, often eventually resulting in lamp failure.]]
The "emission mix" on the tube filaments/cathodes is necessary to enable electrons to pass into the gas via [[thermionic emission]] at the tube operating voltages used. The mix is slowly [[sputter]]ed off by bombardment with electrons and mercury ions during operation, but a larger amount is sputtered off each time the tube is started with cold cathodes. (The method of starting the lamp and hence the control gear type has a significant impact on this.) Lamps operated for typically less than 3 hours each switch-on will normally run out of the emission mix before other parts of the lamp fail. The sputtered emission mix forms the dark marks at the tube ends seen in old tubes. When all the emission mix is gone, the cathode cannot pass sufficient electrons into the gas fill to maintain the discharge at the designed tube operating voltage. Ideally, the control gear should shut down the tube when this happens. However, some control gear will provide sufficient increased voltage to continue operating the tube in [[cold cathode]] mode, which will cause overheating of the tube end and rapid disintegration of the electrodes and their support wires until they are completely gone or the glass cracks, wrecking the low pressure gas fill and stopping the gas discharge.
====Ballast electronics====
This is only relevant to [[compact fluorescent lamp]]s with integral [[electrical ballast]]s. Ballast electronics failure is a somewhat random process which follows the standard failure profile for any electronic devices. Integral electronic ballasts suffer from shortened lifespans in high humidity applications. There is an initial small peak of early failures, followed by a drop and steady increase over lamp life. Life of electronics is heavily dependent on operating temperature—it typically halves for each 10 °C temperature rise. The quoted average life of a lamp is usually at 25 °C ambient (this may vary by country). The average life of the electronics at this temperature is normally greater than this, so at this temperature, not many lamps will fail due to failure of the electronics. In some fittings, the ambient temperature could be well above this, in which case failure of the electronics may become the predominant failure mechanism. Similarly, running a compact fluorescent lamp base-up will result in hotter electronics and shorter average life (particularly with higher power rated ones). Electronic ballasts should be designed to shut down the tube when the emission mix runs out as described above. In the case of integral electronic ballasts, since they never have to work again, this is sometimes done by having them deliberately burn out some component to permanently cease operation.
====Phosphor====
The phosphor drops off in efficiency during use. By around 25,000 operating hours, it will typically be half the brightness of a new lamp (although some manufacturers claim much longer half-lives for their lamps). Lamps which do not suffer failures of the emission mix or integral ballast electronics will eventually develop this failure mode. They still work, but have become dim and inefficient. The process is slow, and often only becomes obvious when a new lamp is operating next to an old lamp.
====Loss of mercury====
Mercury is slowly absorbed into glass, phosphor, and tube electrodes throughout the lamp life, where it can no longer function. Newer lamps now have just enough mercury to last the expected life of the lamp. Loss of mercury will take over from failure of the phosphor in some lamps. The failure symptoms are similar, except loss of mercury initially causes an extended run-up time to full light output, and finally causes the lamp to glow a dim pink when the mercury runs out and the argon base gas takes over as the primary discharge.<!-- A reference would be very good-->
===Phosphors and the spectrum of emitted light===<!-- This section is linked from [[Indigo]] -->
Some people find the color rendition produced by some fluorescent lamps to be harsh and displeasing. A healthy person can sometimes appear to have an unhealthy skin tone under fluorescent lighting. The extent to which this phenomenon occurs is related to the light's spectral composition, and may be gauged by its [[Color Rendering Index]] (CRI).
CRI is a measure of how well balanced the different color components of the white light are, relative to daylight or a blackbody. By definition, an incandescent lamp has a CRI of 100. Real-life fluorescent tubes achieve CRIs of anywhere from 50% to 99%. Fluorescent lamps with low CRI have phosphors which emit too little red light. Skin appears less pink, and hence "unhealthy" compared with incandescent lighting. Colored objects appear muted. For example, a low CRI 6800K halophosphate tube (an extreme example)will make reds appear dull red or even brown.
[[Correlated color temperature]] (CCT) is a measure of the "shade" of whiteness of a light source, again by comparison with a blackbody. Typical incandescent lighting is 2700K which is yellowish-white. Halogen lighting is 3000K. Fluorescent lamps are manufactured to a chosen CCT by altering the mixture of phosphors inside the tube. Warm-white fluorescents have CCT of 2700K and are popular for residential lighting. Neutral-white fluorescents have a CCT of 3000K or 3500K. Cool-white fluorescents have a CCT of 4100K and are popular for office lighting. Daylight fluorescents have a CCT of 5000K to 6500K, which is bluish-white.
High CCT lighting generally requires higher light levels. At dimmer illumination levels, the human eye perceives lower color temperatures as more natural, as related through the [[Kruithof curve]]. So, a dim 2700K incandescent lamp appears natural, and a bright 5000K lamp also appears natural, but a dim 5000K fluorescent lamp appears too pale. Daylight-type fluorescents look natural only if they are very bright.
Some of the least pleasant light comes from tubes containing the older [[halophosphate]] type [[phosphor]]s (chemical formula [[calcium|Ca]]<sub>5</sub>([[phosphorus|P]][[oxygen|O]]<sub>4</sub>)<sub>3</sub>([[fluorine|F]],[[chlorine|Cl]]):[[antimony|Sb]]<sup>3+</sup>,[[manganese|Mn]]<sup>2+</sup>). The bad color reproduction is due to the fact that this phosphor mainly emits yellow and blue light, and relatively little green and red. In the absence a reference, this mixture appears white to the eye, but the light has an incomplete [[spectrum]]. The CRI of such lamps is around 60.
Since the 1990s, higher quality fluorescent lamps use either a higher CRI halophosphate coating, or a ''triphosphor'' mixture, based on [[europium]] and [[terbium]] ions, that have emission bands more evenly distributed over the spectrum of visible light. High CRI halophosphate and triphosphor tubes give a more natural color reproduction to the human eye. The CRI of such lamps is typically 82-100.
{| class="wikitable"
!colspan=3| Fluorescent lamp spectra
|----
| Typical fluorescent lamp with "[[Rare earth element|rare earth]]" phosphor || [[Image:Fluorescent lighting spectrum peaks labelled.gif|200px]] || A typical "cool white" fluorescent lamp utilizing two rare earth doped phosphors, Tb<sup>3+</sup>, Ce<sup>3+</sup>:[[lanthanum|La]]PO<sub>4</sub> for green and blue emission and Eu:Y<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> for red. For an explanation of the origin of the individual peaks click on the image. Note that several of the spectral peaks are directly generated from the mercury arc. This is likely the most common type of fluorescent lamp in use today.
|----
| An older style [[halophosphate]] phosphor fluorescent lamp || [[Image:Spectrum of halophosphate type fluorescent bulb (f30t12 ww rs).png|200px]] || Halophosphate phosphors in these lamps usually consist of trivalent [[antimony]] and divalent [[manganese]] doped [[calcium]] halophosphate (Ca<sub>5</sub>(PO<sub>4</sub>)<sub>3</sub>([[chlorine|Cl]],[[fluorine|F]]):Sb<sup>3+</sup>, Mn<sup>2+</sup>). The color of the light output can be adjusted by altering the ratio of the blue emitting antimony dopant and orange emitting manganese dopant. The color rendering ability of these older style lamps is quite poor. Halophosphate phosphors were invented by A.H. McKeag ''et al'' in 1942.
|----
| "Natural sunshine" fluorescent light || [[Image:Spectra-Philips 32T8 natural sunshine fluorescent light.png|200px]] || An explanation of the origin of the peaks is on the image page.
|----
| Yellow fluorescent lights || [[Image:Yellow fluorescent light spectrum.png|200px]] || The spectrum is nearly identical to a normal fluorescent bulb except for a near total lack of light below 500 nanometers. This effect can be achieved through either specialized phosphor use or more commonly by the use of a simple yellow light filter. These lamps are commonly used as lighting for [[photolithography]] work in [[cleanrooms]] and as "bug repellant" outdoor lighting (the efficacy of which is questionable).
|----
| Spectrum of a "[[blacklight]]" bulb || [[Image:Fluorescent Black-Light spectrum with peaks labelled.gif|200px]] || There is typically only one phosphor present in a blacklight bulb, usually consisting of [[europium]]-doped [[strontium]] [[borate|fluoroborate]] which is contained in an envelope of [[Wood's glass]].
|
|}
==Usage==
Fluorescent light bulbs come in many shapes and sizes. The [[compact fluorescent light bulb]] (CF) is becoming more popular. Many compact fluorescent lamps integrate the auxiliary electronics into the base of the lamp, allowing them to fit into a regular light bulb socket.
In the US, [[residential]] use of fluorescent lighting remains low (generally limited to [[kitchen]]s, [[basement]]s, [[hall]]ways and other areas), but [[school]]s and [[business]]es find the cost savings of fluorescents to be significant and rarely use incandescent lights.
Lighting arrangements use fluorescent tubes in an assortment of tints of white. Sometimes this is because of the lack of appreciation for the difference or importance of differing tube types. Mixing tube types within fittings improves the color reproduction of lower quality tubes. Tax incentives and environmental awareness result in higher use in places such as [[California]].
In other countries, residential use of fluorescent lighting varies depending on the price of energy, financial and environmental concerns of the local population, and acceptability of the light output. In [[East Asia|East]] and [[Southeast Asia]] it is very rare to see [[incandescent]] bulbs in buildings anywhere.
In February 2007, [[Australia]] enacted a law that will ban most sales of incandescent light bulbs by 2010.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://blogs.business2.com/greenwombat/2007/02/australia_bans_.html|title= Australia Bans Traditional Light Bulbs to Combat Global Warming|publisher=green wombat blog|date=[[2007-02-20]]|accessdate=2007-12-31}}</ref> While the law does not specify which alternative Australians are to use, compact fluorescents are likely to be the primary replacements. In April 2007, Canada announced a similar plan to phase out the sale of incandescent bulbs by 2012.<!-- dead ref: http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/story.html?id=174b0c15-7fa6-426e-9460-b6f4de5b35c4&k=84333&p=1 --> Finnish parliament has been discussing banning sales of incandescent light bulbs by the beginning of 2011.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hs.fi/english/article/Ban+on+incandescent+lamps+discussed+by+Finnish+Parliament/1135230613491|title= Ban on incandescent lamps discussed by Finnish Parliament|publisher=Helsingin Sanomat - International Edition|date=[[2007-09-27]]|accessdate=2007-12-31}}</ref>
== Advantages ==
===Efficiency===
Fluorescent lamps are more [[lighting efficiency|efficient]] than [[incandescent light bulb]]s of an equivalent brightness. This is because a greater proportion of the power used is converted to usable [[light]] and a smaller proportion is converted to [[heat]], allowing fluorescent lamps to run cooler. A typical 100 Watt tungsten filament incandescent lamp may convert only 10% of its power input to visible white light, whereas typical fluorescent lamps convert about 22% of the power input to visible white light <ref> General Electric ''Fluorescent Lamps TP111R'', page 20 </ref> - see the table in the [[luminous efficacy]] article.
===Life===
Typically a fluorescent lamp will last between 10 to 20 times as long as an equivalent incandescent lamp when operated several hours at a time.
The higher initial cost of a fluorescent lamp is usually more than compensated for by lower energy consumption over its life. The longer life may also reduce lamp replacement costs, providing additional saving especially where labour is costly. Therefore they are widely used by businesses and institutions, but not as much by households.
===Lower luminosity===
Compared with an incandescent lamp, a fluorescent tube is a more diffuse and physically larger light source. In suitably designed lamps, light can be more evenly distributed without point source of glare such as seen from an undiffused incandescent filament.
===Lower heat===
About two-thirds to three-quarters less heat is given off by fluorescent lamps compared to an equivalent installation of incandescent lamps. This greatly reduces the size, cost, and energy consumption of air-conditioning equipment.
[[Image:Fluorescentfixturebelow20806.JPG|thumb|250px|The "beat effect" problem created when shooting photos or film under standard fluorescent lighting.]]
== Disadvantages ==
===Health issues===
If a fluorescent lamp is broken, mercury can contaminate the surrounding environment. A 1987 report described a 23-month-old toddler hospitalized due to [[mercury poisoning]] traced to a carton of 8-foot fluorescent lamps that had broken. The glass was cleaned up and discarded, but the child often used the area for play.<ref>{{cite journal |journal=Pediatrics |date=1987 |volume=79 |issue=5 |pages=786–9 |title= Acrodynia: exposure to mercury from fluorescent light bulbs |author= Tunnessen WW Jr, McMahon KJ, Baser M |pmid=3575038}}</ref>
Fluorescent lamps can cause problems among individuals with pathological sensitivity to ultraviolet light. They can induce disease activity in photosensitive individuals with [[Systemic lupus erythematosus]]; standard acrylic diffusers absorb UV-B radiation and appear to protect against this.<ref>{{cite journal |journal= Arthritis Rheum |year=1992 |volume=35 |issue=8 |pages=949–52 |title= Fluorescent light photosensitivity in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus |author= Rihner M, McGrath H Jr |doi=10.1002/art.1780350816 |pmid=1642660}}</ref> In rare cases individuals with solar [[urticaria]] (allergy to sunlight) can get a rash from fluorescent lighting.<ref>{{cite journal |journal= Arch Dermatol |year=2003 |volume=139 |issue=9 |pages=1149–54 |title= Characteristics and prognosis of idiopathic solar urticaria: a cohort of 87 cases |author= Beattie PE, Dawe RS, Ibbotson SH, Ferguson J |pmid=12975156 |url=http://archderm.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/139/9/1149 |doi= 10.1001/archderm.139.9.1149}}</ref> However, no fluorescent lighting technology presents anywhere near the high levels of UV danger to light sensitive persons that sunlight presents. A recent study in the US found that UV exposure from sitting under typical office fluorescent lights for eight continuous hours is equivalent to just over one minute of sun exposure (Lytle et al An Estimation of Squamous Cell Carcinoma Risk from Ultraviolet Radiation Emitted by Fluorescent Lamps; Photodermatol Photoimmunol Photomed (1993))
Elimination of fluorescent lighting is appropriate for several conditions. In addition to causing [[headache]] and [[fatigue (medical)|fatigue]],<ref>[http://www.jan.wvu.edu/media/cfs.html Accommodation and Compliance Series: Employees with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome]</ref> and problems with light sensitivity,<ref>[http://www.jan.wvu.edu/soar/vision/light.html Working with Light Sensitivity]</ref> they are listed as problematic for individuals with [[epilepsy]],<ref>[http://www.jan.wvu.edu/media/epilepsy.html Accommodation Ideas for Employees with Epilepsy]</ref> [[lupus]],<ref>[http://www.jan.wvu.edu/media/Lupus.html Accommodation and Compliance Series: Employees with Lupus]</ref> [[chronic fatigue syndrome]], and [[Vertigo (medical)|vertigo]]<ref>[http://www.jan.wvu.edu/enews/2004/Enews_V2-I1.htm#four Accommodating People with Vertigo]</ref> (related to cardiovascular problems, MS, and several other disorders.{{Fact|date=February 2008}}) Research on this is very limited. Fluorescent lighting can also induce [[depersonalization]] & [[derealization]], subsequently, it can make [[depersonalization disorder]] worse.
===Ballasts===
[[Image:Old_USSR_Ballast.JPG|thumb|Magnetic single-lamp ballasts have a low [[power factor]]]]
Fluorescent lamps require a ballast to stabilize the lamp and to provide the initial striking voltage required to start the arc discharge. This increases the cost of fluorescent [[light fixture]]s, though often one ballast is shared between two or more lamps. Electromagnetic ballasts with a minor fault can produce an audible humming or buzzing noise.
===Power factor===
Simple inductive fluorescent lamp ballasts have a [[power factor]] of less than unity. Inductive ballasts include power factor correction capacitors.
===Power harmonics===
Fluorescent lamps are a non-linear load and generate harmonics on the electrical power supply. This can generate radio frequency noise in some cases. Suppression of harmonic generation is standard practice, but imperfect. Very good suppression is possible, but adds to the cost of the fluorescent fixtures.
===Optimum operating temperature===
Fluorescent lamps operate best around room temperature. At much lower or higher temperatures, efficiency decreases and at low temperatures (below freezing) standard lamps may not start. Special lamps may be needed for reliable service outdoors in cold weather. A "cold start" electrical circuit was also developed in the mid-1970s.
===Non-compact light source===
Because the arc is quite long relative to higher-pressure discharge lamps, the amount of light emitted per unit of surface of the lamps is low, so tube lamps were large compared with incandescent sources. However, in many cases low luminous intensity of the emitting surface was useful because it reduced [[Glare (vision)|glare]]. The bulk created by this lamp affected the design of fixtures since light must be directed from long tubes instead of a compact source.
Recently, a new type of fluorescent lamp, the [[Compact fluorescent lamp|CFL]], has been introduced to address this issue and allow regular incandescent sockets to be fitted with this type of lamp, thereby negating the need to mount it on special fixtures. However, some CFLs intended to replace incandescents will not fit some desk lamps, because the harp (heavy wire shade support bracket) is shaped for the narrow neck of an incandescent lamp. CFLs tend to have a wide housing for their electronic ballast close to the lamp's base, too wide to fit.
===Flicker problems===
Older fluorescent fittings using an electromagnetic mains frequency ballast do not give out a steady light; instead, they flicker (fluctuate in intensity) at twice the supply frequency. While this is not easily discernible by the human eye, it can cause a [[Temporal aliasing|strobe effect]], where something spinning at just the right speed may appear stationary if illuminated solely by a single fluorescent lamp. This effect is entirely eliminated by paired lamps operating on a lead-lag ballast. Unlike a true strobe lamp, the light level drops in appreciable time and so substantial "blurring" of the moving part would be evident.
Electromagnetic ballasts may also cause problems for video recording as there can be a 'beat effect' between the periodic reading of a camera's sensor and the fluctuations in intensity of the fluorescent lamp. When other devices that also flicker, such as [[Cathode ray tube|CRT]]-based computer monitors, are operated under fluorescent lighting, the flicker may become much more noticeable. <!-- How? Reference, please - never seen it myself. -->
[[Incandescent lamp]]s, due to the [[thermal inertia]] of their element, fluctuate to a lesser extent at common [[utility frequency|power frequencies]]. Full-size and compact fluorescent lamps using high-frequency electronic ballasts do not produce visible light flicker, since the phosphor persistence is longer than a half cycle of the higher operation frequency. Operating frequencies of electronic ballasts are selected to avoid interference with infrared remote controls.
The non-visible 100 Hz - 120 Hz flicker from fluorescent tubes powered by electromagnetic ballasts are associated with headaches and eyestrain. Individuals with high [[flicker fusion threshold]] are particularly affected by electromagnetic ballasts: their EEG alpha waves are markedly attenuated and they perform office tasks with greater speed and decreased accuracy. <ref>{{cite journal |journal= Ergonomics |volume=41 |issue=4 |pages=433–47 |year=1998 |title= The impact of flicker from fluorescent lighting on well-being, performance and physiological arousal |author= Küller R, Laike T |doi= 10.1080/001401398186928}}</ref> Ordinary people have better reading performance using high frequency (20 kHz – 60 kHz) electronic ballasts than electromagnetic ballasts.<ref>{{cite journal |journal= Light Res Tech |volume=27 |issue=4 |year=1995 |pages=243–256 |url=http://irc.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/pubs/fulltext/nrcc38944/ |accessdate=2007-08-12 |author= Veitch JA, McColl SL |title= Modulation of fluorescent light: flicker rate and light source effects on visual performance and visual comfort}}</ref>
The flicker of fluorescent lamps, even with electromagnetic ballasts, is so rapid that it is unlikely to present a hazard to individuals with [[epilepsy]].<ref>{{cite journal |journal=Epilepsia |year=1979 |volume=20 |issue=6 |pages=725–7 |title= Fluorescent lighting and epilepsy |author= Binnie CD, de Korte RA, Wisman T |pmid=499117 |doi=10.1111/j.1528-1157.1979.tb04856.x}}</ref> Early studies suspected a relationship between the flickering of fluorescent lamps with electromagnetic ballasts and [[Stereotypy|repetitive movement]] in [[autistic]] children.<ref>{{cite journal |journal= J Autism Child Schizophr |year=1976 |volume=6 |issue=2 |pages=157–62 |title= The effects of fluorescent and incandescent illumination upon repetitive behaviors in autistic children |author= Colman RS, Frankel F, Ritvo E, Freeman BJ |doi=10.1007/BF01538059 |pmid=989489}}</ref> However, these studies had interpretive problems<ref>{{cite journal |journal= J Child Psychol Psychiatry |year=1999 |volume=40 |issue=6 |pages=839–49 |title= Annotation: Repetitive behaviour in autism: a review of psychological research |author= Turner M |pmid=10509879 |doi= 10.1017/S0021963099004278}}</ref> and have not been replicated.
===Color rendition===
The issues with color faithfulness of some tube types are discussed [[#Phosphors and the spectrum of emitted light|above]].
===Dimming===
Fluorescent light fixtures cannot be connected to a standard [[dimmer]] switch used for incandescent lamps. Two effects are responsible for this: the waveshape of the voltage emitted by a standard phase-control dimmer interacts badly with many ballasts and it becomes difficult to sustain an arc in the fluorescent tube at low power levels. Many installations require 4-pin fluorescent lamps and compatible dimming ballasts for successful fluorescent dimming. These systems keep the cathodes of the fluorescent tube fully heated even as the arc current is reduced, promoting easy thermionic emission of electrons into the arc stream.
CFLs are available that work in a dimmer circuit.
===Disposal and recycling===
The disposal of phosphor and particularly the [[mercury (element)|mercury]] in the tubes is an environmental issue. Mercury poses the greatest hazard to pregnant women, infants, and children. Governmental regulations in many areas require special disposal of fluorescent lamps separate from general and household wastes. For large commercial or industrial users of fluorescent lights, recycling services are available in many nations, and may be required by regulation. In some areas, recycling is also available to consumers. The need for a recycling infrastructure is an issue with instituting proposed bans of incandescent bulbs.
The amount of mercury in a standard lamp can vary dramatically, from 3 to 46 mg.<ref>Page 183 of http://www.chem.unep.ch/MERCURY/Toolkit/UNEP-final-pilot-draft-toolkit-Dec05.pdf</ref> Newer lamps contain less mercury and the 3-4 mg versions are sold as low-mercury types. A typical 2006-era {{convert|4|ft|cm|0|abbr=on}} T-12 fluorescent lamp (i.e., F32T12) contains about 12 [[milligrams]] of mercury.<ref>[http://lightingdesignlab.com/articles/mercury_in_fl/mercurycfl.htm Lighting Design Lab Articles - Mercury in Fluorescent Lamps]</ref> In early 2007, the National Electrical Manufacturers Association in the US announced that "Under the voluntary commitment, effective April 15, 2007, participating manufacturers will cap the total mercury content in CFLs under 25 watts at 5 milligrams (mg) per unit. CFLs that use 25 to 40 watts of electricity will have total mercury content capped at 6 mg per unit."<ref>[http://www.nema.org/gov/ehs/committees/lamps/cfl-mercury.cfm NEMA Voluntary Commitment on Mercury in CFLs]</ref>
A broken fluorescent tube is more hazardous than a broken conventional incandescent bulb due to the mercury content. Because of this, the safe cleanup of broken fluorescent bulbs differs from cleanup of conventional broken glass or incandescent bulbs. 99% of the mercury is typically contained in the phosphor, especially on lamps that are near their end of life.<ref>Floyd, et al. (2002), quoted on page 184 of [http://www.chem.unep.ch/MERCURY/Toolkit/UNEP-final-pilot-draft-toolkit-Dec05.pdf Toolkit for identification and quantification of mercury releases] ([[Portable Document Format|PDF]])</ref>
At least some of the early (around 1940) fluorescent lamps used compounds containing beryllium, a toxic element. <ref> http://www.nyu.edu/classes/jaeger/beryllium.htm Beryllium toxicity and fluorescent lamp manufacture, retrieved June 7,2008 </ref>. However, it is very unlikely that one would encounter any such lamps.<ref> General Electric ''Fluorescent Lamps TP 111R'', Dec. 1978, says on pg. 23 that ''since 1949 GE lamps used relatively inert phosphates found to be safe in ordinary handling of either the intact or broken lamp.'' </ref>
== Tube designations ==<!-- This section is linked from [[T8 Lamp]] -->
{{globalize/North America|section}}
Lamps are typically [[identification|identified]] by a [[code]] such as F##T##, where F is for fluorescent, the first number indicates the power in watts (or where lamps can be operated at different power levels, the length in [[inch]]es), the T indicates that the shape of the bulb is [[tube|tubular]], and the last number is the [[diameter]] in eighths of an inch (sometimes in millimeters, rounded to the nearest millimeter). Typical diameters are T12 or T38 (1<sup>1</sup>/<sub>2</sub>" Ø or 38.1 mm Ø) for residential bulbs with old [[magnet]]ic [[electrical ballast|ballast]]s, T8 or T26 (1" Ø or 25.4 mm Ø) for commercial energy-saving lamps with electronic ballasts, and T5 or T16 (<sup>5</sup>/<sub>8</sub>" Ø or 15.875 mm Ø) for very small lamps which may even operate from a battery powered device.
{| class="wikitable"
!colspan=5| Fluorescent tube diameter designation comparison
|-
!colspan=2| Tube Diameter Designations
!colspan=3| Tube Diameter Measurements
|-
! Imperial-based
! Metric-based
!colspan=2| Inches Ø
(")
! Millimeters Ø
(mm)
|-
| T5
| T16
|colspan=2| <sup>5</sup>/<sub>8</sub>" Ø
| 15.875 mm Ø
|-
| T8
| T26
| <sup>8</sup>/<sub>8</sub>" Ø || 1" Ø
| 25.4 mm Ø
|-
| T9 '''*'''
| T29 '''*'''
| <sup>9</sup>/<sub>8</sub>" Ø '''*''' || 1<sup>1</sup>/<sub>8</sub>" Ø '''*'''
| 28.575 mm Ø '''*'''
|-
| T12
| T38
| <sup>12</sup>/<sub>8</sub>" Ø || 1<sup>1</sup>/<sub>2</sub>" Ø
| 38.1 mm Ø
|-
| PG17 '''**'''
| ''N/A'' '''**'''
| <sup>17</sup>/<sub>8</sub>" Ø '''**''' || 2<sup>1</sup>/<sub>8</sub>" Ø '''**'''
| 53.975 mm Ø '''**'''
|-
|colspan=5| '''*''' - Circular fluorescent tubes only
'''**''' - [[General Electric|General Electric's]] ''Power Groove<sup>®</sup>'' tubes only
|}
=== Reflectors ===
Some lamps are designed with a reflector built inside the lamp. This is done by pouring an opaque coating into the lamp first, rotating the lamp to achieve the desired amount of coverage, then allowing it to dry before adding the traditional phosphors. With straight lamps, this is commonly poured in a fashion as to cover half the lamp as it is lying flat, with the lamp rated as to the amount of curvature that is covered in the opaque coating. A 180 degree lamp has 50% coverage, whereas a 210 degree lamp has 30 degrees more coverage. These are the most common type, although the reflector can vary from 120 degrees to well over 310 degrees. Lamps that have significantly more than 210 degrees of coverage are often referred to as "aperature lamps" as the amount of open area that light can escape is significantly less than the area that acts as an internal reflector. Often, a lamp is marked as a reflector lamp by adding the letter "R" in the model code, so a F##T##HO lamp with a reflector would be coded as "FR##T##HO". VHO lamps with reflectors may be coded as VHOR. No such designation exists for the amount of reflector degrees the lamp has.
Reflector lamps are used in several application, particularly when light is only desired to be emitted in a single direction, or when an application requires the maximum amount of light. This can be as simple as in a higher end [[tanning bed]] or in some backlighting situation for electronics. An internal reflector is more efficient than standard external reflectors as there is less opportunity to lose light due to wave cancellation. Another example is color matched aperature lights (330 degrees of opening, give or take) are used in the food industry for quality control purposes, to allow robotic inspection of cooked goods.
=== Slimline lamps ===
Slimline lamps operate on an [[instant start]] ballast and are recognizable by their single-pin bases.
=== Light outputs ===
High-[[output]] lamps are brighter and draw more [[electrical current]], have different ends on the [[pin]]s so they cannot be used in the wrong [[fixture]], and are labeled F##T##HO, or F##T##VHO for very high output. Since about the early to mid 1950s to today, General Electric developed and improved the ''Power Groove''<sup>®</sup> lamp with the label F##PG17. These lamps are recognizable by their large diameter (<sup>17</sup>/<sub>8</sub>" or 2<sup>1</sup>/<sub>8</sub>"), grooved tube shape and an R17d cap on each end of them.
=== Other tube shapes ===
U-shaped tubes are FB##T##, with the B meaning "bent". Most commonly, these have the same designations as linear tubes. Circular bulbs are FC##T#, with the ''diameter'' of the circle (''not'' [[circumference]] or watts) being the first number, and the second number usually being 9 (29 mm) for standard fixtures.
=== Colors ===
Color is usually indicated by WW for warm white, EW for enhanced (neutral) white, CW for cool white (the most common), and DW for the bluish [[daylight]] white. BLB is used for blacklight-blue lamps commonly used in [[bug zapper|bug zappers]]. BL is used for [[blacklight]] lamps commonly used in nightclubs. Other non-standard designations apply for [[plant light|plant lights]] or [[grow light|grow lights]].
'''[[Philips]] and [[Osram]] use numeric color codes for the colors.'''
On Tri-Phosphor and Multi-Phosphor tubes, the first digit indicates the Color Rendition Index of the lamp. If the first digit on a lamp says '''8''', then the CRI of that lamp will be approximately 85. The last two digits indicate the [[Color Temperature]] of the lamp in Kelvins (K). For example, if the last two digits on a lamp say '''40''', that lamp's Color Temperature will be 4000 K, which is a common Tri-Phosphor Cool White fluorescent lamp.
{| class="wikitable"
!colspan=4| Halophosphate tubes
|-
! Numeric Color Code
! Color
! Approximate Color Rendition Index
! Color Temperature (K)
|-
| 27
| Warm White
| 50 - 79
| 2700
|-
| 33
| Cool White
| 50 - 79
| 4000
|-
| 54
| Cool Daylight
| 50 - 79
| 6000
|-
!colspan=4| Tri-Phosphor tubes
|-
! Numeric Color Code
! Color
! Approximate Color Rendition Index
! Color Temperature (K)
|-
| 827
| Warm White
| ~85
| 2700
|-
| 840
| Cool White
| ~85
| 4000
|-
| 865
| Cool Daylight
| ~85
| 6500
|-
!colspan=4| Multi-Phosphor tubes
|-
! Numeric Color Code
! Color
! Approximate Color Rendition Index
! Color Temperature (K)
|-
| 927
| Warm White
| ~95
| 2700
|-
| 940
| Cool White
| ~95
| 4000
|-
| 965
| Cool Daylight
| ~95
| 6500
|-
!colspan=4| Special purpose tubes
|-
! Numeric Code
! Fluorescent
lamp type
!colspan=2| Notes
|-
| 05
| [[Germicidal lamp|Germicidal lamps]]
|colspan=2| No phosphors used at all,
using an envelope of [[fused quartz]].
|-
| 08
| [[Black light|Black light lamps]]
|colspan=2|
|-
| 09
| [[Tanning lamp|Sun Tanning lamps]]
|colspan=2|
|}
=== Lengths ===
Odd lengths are usually added after the color. One example is an F25T12/CW/33, meaning 25 Watts, 1<sup>1</sup>/<sub>2</sub>" diameter, Cool White, 33" or 84 cm long. Without the 33", it would be assumed that an F25T12 is the more-common 30" long.
=== Compact Fluorescent Lamps ===
Some compact fluorescents are now being labelled with this designation system.
==Other fluorescent lamps==
;[[Blacklight]]s
:Blacklights are a subset of fluorescent lamps that are used to provide long-wave [[ultraviolet]] light (at about 360nm wavelength). They are built in the same fashion as conventional fluorescent lamps but the glass tube is coated with a phosphor that converts the short-wave UV within the tube to long-wave UV rather than to visible light. They are used to provoke [[fluorescence]] (to provide dramatic effects using [[blacklight paint]] and to detect materials such as [[urine]] and certain [[dye]]s that would be invisible in visible light) as well as to attract [[insect]]s to [[bug zapper]]s.
:So-called ''[[blacklite blue]]'' lamps are also made from more expensive deep purple glass known as [[Wood's glass]] rather than clear glass. The deep purple glass filters out most of the visible colors of light directly emitted by the mercury-vapor discharge, producing proportionally less visible light compared with UV light. This allows UV-induced fluorescence to be seen more easily (thereby allowing ''blacklight posters'' to seem much more dramatic). The blacklight lamps used in [[bug zapper]]s do not require this refinement so it is usually omitted in the interest of cost; they are called simply ''[[blacklite]]'' (and not blacklite blue).
;[[Tanning lamp]]s
:The lamps used in [[tanning beds]] contain a different phosphor blend (typically 3 to 5 or more phosphors) that emits both UVA and UVB, provoking a [[sun tanning|tanning]] response in most [[human]] [[skin]]. Typically, the output is rated as 3% to 10% UVB (5% most typical) with the remaining UV as UVA. These are mainly F71, F72 or F73 HO (100W) lamps, although 160W VHO are somewhat common.
;[[Grow lamp]]s
:Grow lamps contain a phosphor blend that encourages photosynthesis in plants; they usually appear pinkish to human eyes.
;[[Germicidal lamp]]s
:Germicidal lamps contain no phosphor at all (technically making them gas discharge lamps rather than fluorescent) and their tubes are made of [[fused quartz]] that is transparent to the short-wave UV directly emitted by the mercury discharge. The UV emitted by these tubes will kill germs, ionize [[oxygen]] to [[ozone]], and cause eye and skin damage. Besides their uses to kill [[germ]]s and create ozone, they are sometimes used by [[geologist]]s to identify certain species of [[mineral]]s by the color of their fluorescence. When used in this fashion, they are fitted with filters in the same way as blacklight-blue lamps are; the filter passes the short-wave UV and blocks the visible light produced by the mercury discharge. They are also used in [[EPROM]] erasers.
:Germicidal lamps have designations beginning with G (meaning 'Germicidal'), rather than F, for example G30T8 for a 30-Watt, 1 inch diameter, 36 inch long germicidal lamp (as opposed to an F30T8, which would be the fluorescent lamp of the same size and rating).
;[[Electrodeless induction lamp]]s
:Electrodeless induction lamps are fluorescent lamps without internal electrodes. They have been commercially available since [[1990]]. A current is induced into the gas column using [[electromagnetic induction]]. Because the electrodes are usually the life-limiting element of fluorescent lamps, such electrodeless lamps can have a very long service life, although they also have a higher purchase price.
;[[Compact fluorescent lamp]]s (CFL)
:Also known as a compact fluorescent light bulb is a type of fluorescent lamp designed to replace an incandescent lamp. Many CFLs can fit in the existing incandescent light fixtures.
;[[Cold-cathode fluorescent lamp]]s (CCFL)
:Cold-cathode fluorescent lamps are used as [[backlighting]] for [[LCD display]]s in personal computer and TV monitors. They are also popular with [[case modder]]s in recent years.
==Science demonstrations==
Fluorescent lamps can be illuminated by means other than a proper electrical connection. These other methods however result in very dim or very short-lived illumination, and so are seen mostly in science demonstrations. With the exception of static electricity, these methods can be very dangerous if done improperly:
* [[Static electricity]]
* [[Van de Graaff generator]]
* [[Tesla coil]]
* [[Capacitive coupling]] with [[electric power transmission|high-voltage power lines]]<ref>[http://www.richardbox.com/ richardbox.com<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
==Film and video use==
Special fluorescent lights are often used in film and video production. The brand name Kino Flo are used to create softer fill light and are less hot than traditional halogen light sources. These fluorescent lights are designed with special high-frequency ballasts to prevent video flickering and high color-rendition index bulbs to approximate daylight color temperatures.
==See also==
*[[List of light sources]]
*[[Electrical ballast]]
==References==
<references/>
==External links==
{{Commons|Fluorescent light bulbs|Fluorescent lamp}}
*NASA: [http://www-istp.gsfc.nasa.gov/Education/wfluor.html The Fluorescent Lamp: A plasma you can use]
*How Stuff Works: [http://www.howstuffworks.com/question236.htm Are fluorescent bulbs really more efficient than normal light bulbs?]
*How Stuff Works: [http://www.howstuffworks.com/fluorescent-lamp.htm How Fluorescent Lamps Work]
*[http://members.misty.com/don/f-lamp.html Sam's F-Lamp FAQ]
*[http://nemesis.lonestar.org/reference/electricity/fluorescent/index.html The Fluorescent Lighting System]
*The Lighting Design Lab: [http://lightingdesignlab.com/articles/switching/switching_fluorescent.htm ''Should I Turn Off Fluorescent Lighting When Leaving A Room?'']
*[http://www.lamptech.co.uk Museum of Electric Lamp Technology]
*[http://www.maxim-ic.com/appnotes.cfm/appnote_number/3528 Application notes for CCFL lamps.]
*[http://www.lampreview.net History, Science and Technology of Light Sources]
*{{cite web|url=http://home.frognet.net/~ejcov/thayer.html|title=The Fluorescent Lamp: Early U. S. Development|author=R. N. Thayer|accessdate=2007-03-18|date=1991-10-25|publisher=The Report courtesy of General Electric Company}}
*[http://ioannis.virtualcomposer2000.com/spectroscope/amici.html Dozens of raw visible spectra of fluorescent and other light bulbs]
*[http://wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index.php?title=Fluorescent_Lighting Fluorescent Lighting, UK.D-I-Y Wiki]
*[http://www.epa.gov/mercury/spills/index.htm What to Do if a Fluorescent Light Bulb Breaks]
*[http://www.recyclingsupermarket.com/hazardous-waste/fluorescent-tubes-in-the-workplace/ Fluorescent Tubes in the Workplace] Article explaining the proper disposal of fluorescent tubes
* [http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/energy_saving_products/types_of_energy_saving_recommended_products/energy_saving_light_bulbs 'Energy saving lightbulbs']
{{ArtificialLightSources}}
[[Category:Gas discharge lamps]]
[[Category:Lamps]]
[[Category:Electric power]]
[[Category:Plasma physics]]
[[Category:Recyclable materials]]
[[Category:Glass applications]]
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