bulbs & tube lights

Fluorescent lamp:

A fluorescent lamp or fluorescent tube is a gas-discharge lamp that uses electricity to excite mercury vapor. The excited mercury atoms produce short-wave ultraviolet light that then causes a phosphor to fluoresce, producing visible light.

Unlike incandescent lamps, fluorescent lamps always require a 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 cost typically 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 initially more expensive than a comparable incandescent lamp.

Electric Bulbs

Bulbs are indispensable to enlighten in every sphere of the lighting world. They are available in spectrum designs and configurations for diverse applications. Their application ranges from domestic to industrial purpose. They offered in high voltage to lower voltage applications. metal halide, halogens, incandescent, sodium and mercury vapor bulbs are high intensity discharge lamps offering high efficacy, high colour rendition, and widely used for outdoor and commercial applications. For underwater application bulbs are offered with waterproof version and spectrum colors. Ultraviolet bulbs are manufactured to meet the lighting for medical standards, often used in germicide lamps and applications like forge detection etc. Fiber optic bulbs often used for decoration as cables in pool, spa or fountain etc. Led fiber bulbs often applications in tree lighting and parties for decoration.

Xenon bulbs are provided with high radiant energy in the uv region, used for water inspection, semiconductor annealing, blood analyzer, fluorescent microscope, uv curing for epoxies etc. Infrared bulbs used in many clinical applications. They generate and deliver far infrared for deep heating therapy and treatments.

light bulb

The incandescent light bulb, incandescent lamp or incandescent light globe is a source of electric light that works by incandescence (a general term for heat-driven light emissions which includes the simple case of black body radiation). An electric current passes through a thin filament, heating it until it produces light. The enclosing glass bulb prevents the oxygen in air from reaching the hot filament, which otherwise would be destroyed rapidly by oxidation. Incandescent bulbs are also sometimes called electric lamps, a term also applied to the original arc lamps.

Incandescent bulbs are made in a wide range of sizes and voltages, from 1.5 volts to about 300 volts. They require no external regulating equipment and have a low manufacturing cost, and work well on either alternating current or direct current. As a result the incandescent lamp is widely used in household and commercial lighting, for portable lighting, such as table lamps, some car headlamps and electric flashlights, and for decorative and advertising lighting.

Some applications of the incandescent bulb make use of the heat generated, such as incubators, brooding boxes for poultry, heat lights for reptile tanks, infrared heating for industrial heating and drying processes, and the Easy-Bake Oven toy. In cold weather the heat shed by incandescent lamps contributes to building heating, but in hot climates lamp losses increase the energy used by air conditioning systems.

Incandescent light bulbs are gradually being replaced in many applications by other types of electric light such as (compact) fluorescent lamps, high-intensity discharge lamps, light-emitting diodes (LEDs), and other devices. These newer technologies give more visible light for the same amount of electrical energy input, and often generate much less heat. Some jurisdictions, such as the European Union are in the process of phasing-out the use of incandescent light bulbs in favor of more energy-efficient lighting.

Construction

Incandescent light bulbs consist of a glass enclosure (the envelope, or bulb) with a filament of tungsten wire inside the bulb, through which an electric current is passed. Contact wires and a base with two (or more) conductors provide electrical connections to the filament. Incandescent light bulbs usually contain a stem or glass mount anchored to the bulb's base which allows the electrical contacts to run through the envelope without gas/air leaks. Small wires embedded in the stem in turn support the filament and/or its lead wires. The bulb is filled with an inert gas such as argon to reduce evaporation of the filament.

An electrical current heats the filament to typically 2000 K to 3300 K (about 3100-5400°F), well below tungsten's melting point of 3695 K (6192°F). Filament temperatures depend on the filament type, shape, size, and amount of current drawn. The heated filament emits light that approximates a continuous spectrum. The useful part of the emitted energy is visible light, but most energy is given off as heat in the near-infrared wavelengths.

Three-way light bulbs have two filaments and three conducting contacts in their bases. The filaments share a common ground, and can be lit separately or together. Common wattages include 30-70-100, 50-100-150, and 100-200-300, with the first two numbers referring to the individual filaments, and the third giving the combined wattage.

While most light bulbs have clear or frosted glass, other kinds are also produced, including the various colors used for Christmas tree lights and other decorative lighting. Neodymium-containing glass is sometimes used to provide a more natural-appearing light.

Many arrangements of electrical contacts are used. Large lamps may have a screw base (one or more contacts at the tip, one at the shell) or a bayonet base (one or more contacts on the base, shell used as a contact or used only as a mechanical support). Some tubular lamps have an electrical contact at either end. Miniature lamps may have a wedge base and wire contacts, and some automotive and special purpose lamps have screw terminals for connection to wires. Contacts in the lamp socket allow the electric current to pass through the base to the filament. Power ratings for incandescent light bulbs range from about 0.1 watt to about 10,000 watts.