I've just completed my new ebook "Eureka!". It's all about those
spectacular times in history whenever a new merchandise or technique was first discovered
(if you prefer a replica you should email me at
VernonStent@hotmail.com) . Considered one of the innovations that didn't make
it to the e-book was the fluorescent lamp (or tube). That's never to say it isn't
an interesting tale - it without a doubt is. The trouble is the fact that there's not an individual big
"eureka" instant. It could be stated that the fluorescent lamp was never
true religion outlet honestly invented in the slightest degree but that it evolved above time.
The creation from the fluorescent lamp was a truly joint effort and hard work spanning a
century: In this article are the milestones:
1675: Jean Picard, a French astronomer, noted that mercury inside a barometer
tube would glow when shaken. He recorded this observation but did not understand
it
1846: Julius Plücker, German mathematician and physicist, theorized and
experimented with coloured light produced by passing electricity through various
gasses. He worked with glassblower Heinrich Geissler who invented what was to
become known as the Geissler tube in which the experiments were conducted.
1850's: Heinrich Geissler continued to develop light emitting tubes
1857: Frenchman Alexandre Edmond Becquerel experimented with electric
discharge tubes coated on the inside with various luminescent materials
1868: Becquerel published his landmark treatise
La Lumiere, ses causes et ses effets1893 Nikola Tesla, originally from Serbia, developed the fluorescent light
using high frequency lighting ballasts
1894 Daniel McFarlane Moore, a U.S. inventor created the gas discharge lamp
using carbon dioxide and nitrogen to produce white and pink light respectively
1901: Serial inventor Peter Cooper Hewitt from New York, invented the mercury
vapour lamp. For the first of all time fluorescent lamps were being produced
commercially, albeit on a small scale
1926: Edmund Germer, Friedrich Meyer and Hans J. Spanner - all from Germany -
managed to produce a fluorescent tube with greater gas pressure and a fluorescent
inner coating that converted ultra violet light into visible white light.
1938: Having purchased the patent from Edmund Germer, General Electric mass
produced fluorescent lamps.
1974: GE Lighting invented the energy-efficient compact fluorescent bulb
How Does it Work?
To start with you need a glass tube that has small amount of a certain gas and some
mercury sealed inside - and nothing else. The gas will be argon or neon or any
of a number of other gasses (each produces its own unique colour). Electricity
is passed from 1 end of your tube to another. The electrons that pass through
ionise the atoms in the mixture and cause it to emit ultra violet light. The
electricity output must be limited before it can pass through, using a choke or
ballast. Without this limiting factor, fluorescent tubes could explode! By
contrast, a high voltage is required to get the whole system started. When the
lamp is first of all switched on, a starter is used to provide this
"kick-start". The starter may be an integral part for the lamp build
and may be automatic or it may be a separate unit, typically a small plug that
twists into position.
The fluorescent lamp has had quite a journey from Jean Picard's early musings
to the energy-efficient lamps of today. They are used in may applications. One
of these applications is the fly killer machine. Insectocutor fly killers use
ultra violet fluorescent tubes that attract flies in order to trap and kill
them. Each uv bulb comes complete with a starter and a choke.
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