Fluorescent lamps

Currently fluorescent lamps have become the lighting means most widely used in shops, offices, public places, homes, etc. However, not all people know how they work, how hardly emit light without generating heat, or how they can develop more lumens per watt (lm / W) with lower power consumption compared to incandescent lamps under the same lighting conditions .

The oldest known technology in fluorescent lamps is the ignition for preheating. In this type of lamp remain million operating worldwide despite the technological advances that have experienced in recent years and new variants have been developed. However, its operating principle has not changed much since 1938 when it introduced the first in the market.

Let's look at what the main parties that make up the most basic fluorescent lamps are:

Discharge pipe

Caps with strands

Primer, lighter or starter (starter)

Ballasted (ballast)

Discharge tube. The body or discharge tube fluorescent lamps are made of glass, with different lengths and diameters. The length depends mainly on the power in watts (W) to develop the lamp. The diameter, in turn, has been standardized to 25.4 mm (equivalent to one inch) in most of the tubes. The most common and most widely used are straight, but can also be found with circular shape.

The inner tube wall is coated with a layer of phosphorescent or fluorescent substance, whose mission is to convert ultraviolet light rays (generated within and not visible to the human eye), in visible light radiations. For that to happen, its interior is filled with an inert gas, usually argon (Ar) and a small amount of mercury (Hg) liquid. Argon gas is responsible for facilitating the emergence of the electric arc which facilitates the ignition of the lamp and also control the intensity of electron flow through the tube.

Caps. Most straight fluorescent tubes have in each of its ends a cap with two external pin or pins of electrical contacts connected to the filaments inside the heating or preheating. These filaments are made of metal tungsten, also known by the chemical name of tungsten (W), coated calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg) and its main function in the tubes of the fluorescent lamp is preheat the argon gas They contain within them so that they can turn.

A. Contact pins. B. electrodes. C. tungsten filament. D. Mercury (Hg) liquid. <
Atoms E. argon gas (Ar). F. fluorescent coating layer or phosphorus (P). G. discharge tube. glass.



The coating of calcium and magnesium that have the appearance of filaments facilitates electron flow required for the ignition of the lamp is made. Amid this process the filaments are turned off and become two electrodes through which the current or flow of electrons is established.

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Halogen lamps

INTRODUCTION

Halogen lamps

Three types of halogen lamps transparent capsule: with pin or pins, screw and linear tube with pressure terminals.



Since its invention in 1878, the common incandescent lamp has been virtually the source of most heavily used artificial light, but since 1939 also competes with tubes, more efficient and economical fluorescent lamps.

However, in the decade of the 50s of last century the need to provide supersonic aircraft a source of intense light for night navigation, which could be located on the wingtips, led the American engineers to develop an incandescent type lamp, but conceptually and structurally different from those known until then.

The first attempt for more light intensity with less consumption of electric power was trying to increase the temperature of the tungsten filament, this metal also known as tungsten (W), which ended in a resounding failure. Due to the evaporation process that usually suffers the tungsten within any type of incandescent bulb while it is on, the deterioration accelerated further as the temperature increased, the safety glass blackened much faster than normal and eventually Lamp finished melting.

Suffered failure led engineers to test different materials that could build the lamp, but always kept the main tungsten filament lighting element due to the magnificent physical and chemical properties having for that purpose.
Among attempts and failures replaced argon gas used in common incandescent lamps, a halogen element such as iodine (I), allowing increasing the filament temperature.

In addition, engineers instead of using the common glass used standard incandescent lamps as a protective cover, unable to bear the high temperature at which it was necessary to submit the new lamp filament, quartz crystal used.

Thus in 1959, nine years after the first experiments begin a new incandescent lamp was completely different from the known so far, which gave it the name "tungsten halogen lamp" or "quartz lamp". It was a smaller lamp and efficient compared with standard incandescent predecessors of equal power, but with the added advantage of providing a much brighter lighting and a time longer life.

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Incandescent lamps

Incandescent lamps:

Introduction

The bulb or incandescent lamp more than an experiment a necessity for the human being, the only source of light and heat that was known for its emergence sun When I use the fire discovered by thousands of years as a source of artificial light and form providing heat by torches and candles in past centuries. A mid-nineteenth century Thomas Alva Edison's invention of the light bulb present the October 21, 1879.

It was a great experiment as much as invention, was a creation that contribute much to mankind, an opportunity to easy light without using separate fire is safer although both are also disadvantages to the environment. Due to the damage caused by pollution several countries in the European Union they are using another type of incandescent lamp (Not completely given) as well as LED that is better because it brings a lot to the environment.

What is an incandescent lamp?
The incandescent lamp or bulb (spotlight as many call it) is a device that gives off light based on the Joule heating effect of a metal filament (tungsten till today), to put white-hot by the electric current produce as much light as heat .

Elements of an incandescent lamp
Observing a typical incandescent lamp has a simple structure. It has a metal screw cap and a terminal cap isolated in its end cap as well as the terminal allows connection to the positive and negative poles of an electrical outlet. The bulb socket and the terminal at its end soldiers are two copper wires are inserted into a glass tube that is inside the part of a blister of the same material used. Near the sealed end of the tube the two wires therethrough and their tips are welded to the ends of the tungsten filament, the bulb cella vacuum and an inert gas such as argon is injected extending the length of the filament.

The tungsten filament.

The filament of an incandescent lamp consists of extremely fine wire over any cables either. In the first lamps that were created used a variety of filaments, the one created by Edison in 1878 had carbon filament with an inefficient and inconvenient material can be durable.

After tests, starting from 1906 was used tungsten wire also known as tungsten were first built to be more rugged and durable than coal to have had better results. This metal is often used to till our days even till to manufacture various types of more efficient than incandescent lamps.
Runs incandescent lamp.
In most cases the light also generates heat being the most common way to excite the atoms of a filament to emit photons and scope of the incandescent state. Originally the current flows through a power electronic circuit closed, energy dissipates heat shock case by frictional moving electrons occurs. When a cable is the proper thickness electric charges normally flow and releases the energy as heat electrons can be neglected.
But the opposite happens when those same electric charges pass dare extremely fine metal wire (as in the case of tungsten to be that thin wire provides more resistance to the flow of electrons, electrical charges consistent greatest obstacle to move increasing friction.


A. The electrons flow through the driver usually releasing some heat. B. When a given metal flow resistance friction of the stream of electrons collide causing the temperature to rise. Under these conditions the metal molecules excited state reached to incandescence and the electrons reach light emitting photons.
The European Union and Bulbs
In 2009, a directive from the EU set a deadline for leaving the manufacture and sale of incandescent lamps. On September 2009 it is making power equal to or greater than 100w and 25w till 40 and was banned. Incandescent lamps are being replaced by more efficient options like LED compact and this in countries participating in the European Union fluorescent lamps.


The fluorescent lamp

It is operated by a lamp base mercury vapor at low pressure and commonly used in domestic and industrial lighting.
It has great advantage over other types of lamps as incandescent in its energy difference. Is formed by a glass was coated on the inside with various chemicals composite also called phosphors, although generally the chemical element phosphorus.
These chemicals emit visible light to emit ultraviolet radiation. The tube also mercury vapor and an inert gas such as argon or neon at a pressure lower than atmospheric. At each end of the tube is a tungsten filament which when heated to red contributes to ionization of the gases.


Disadvantages of thrifty focus

Recently has spread the story that the mercury content that takes each of the bulbs is a health hazard, provided that these objects are properly disposed, that is if they break inside the room. Each saving bulb contains 3-5 milligrams of mercury. In case of inhalation may cause lung damage, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, increased blood pressure or heart rate, skin rashes, and eye irritation. Studies in Mexico, confirms that taking into account common room has a dimension of approximately 4 x 4 meters by 2.5 meters high an area of ​​40 cubic meters is created, to pollute this space-saving 80 broken lamp are necessary , amount unlikely to reach the limit of risk. However, mercury, once they enter the body endures forever.


What is the difference between savers and conventional bulbs?

A normal incandescent light bulb or incandescent lamp light reduced by heating, has a metal wire or filament which is heated to put the red blanco.Las advantages could be that warms and disadvantages are baratos.Las inefficient because 90 % of the electricity it consumes into heat and only the remaining 10% in luz.El saving bulb or fluorescent lamp is a kind of white light lamp suinterior contain some mercury by which electricity flows with an electronic ballast integrado.Las money saver power advantages, white light Disadvantage ten times more expensive than a conventional bulb.


Properties

The incandescent lamp is the lower light output of the lamps used: 12 to 18 lm / W (lumens per watt) and to a lesser life or durability has: about 1000 hours, but is the most widespread, by its low price and the warm color of light.

While there were US patents light bulbs up to 200,000 hours were produced never to be economically unviable. Back to the story in 1924 a cartel which brought together the leading manufacturers in Europe and the United States agreed to limit the lifetime of a light bulb to 1000 hours. This cartel was called Phoebus and officially never existed.

No it offers good color reproduction, as it produces in the spectrum of cool colors, but to have a continuous emission spectrum does contain all the wavelengths in the party issuing the spectrum. Its efficiency is very low, since only visible light becomes about 15% of the energy consumed. Another 25% is transformed into heat energy and 60% in no perceptible radiation, ultraviolet and infrared light, which end up as heat.

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