When was fluorescent lights invented

Between and , he received over patents. Induction Event Collegiate Inventors Event. US Patent Nos. Born August 24, - Died August 10, The road to fluorescent lighting was paved slowly starting in the s when Thomas Edison tested a prototype. However, this prototype while successful, proved to be unsuitable for more than a brief illumination.

The road to success for fluorescent lighting would actually find its footing thanks to the introduction of mercury vapor lamps. Created by Peter Cooper Hewitt in s, this type of lamp used glass tubes which would later become the model used for fluorescent lighting. In the , the idea of fluorescent lighting came to the forefront by way of the works of Jacques Risler.

He was the first to place a coating of fluorescence inside the glass tubing of a mercury lamp. Inside the bulb is a gas normally argon and mercury vapor. As electrons travel from one electrode to another, they excite mercury atoms. When these atoms settle back into an unexcited state, they give off photons of ultraviolet light. The human eye cannot detect this light naturally. Instead, a phosphor that coats the inside of the bulb gives off visible light when it is hit with ultraviolet photons.

Geissler tubes and Crookes tubes were both predecessors of the fluorescent lamp. These evacuated cylinders containing electrodes were used for scientific, educational and entertainment purposes, but not as practical lighting.

This complimentary device is used to help regulate the amount of electrical current that flows through the glass tube from the electrodes. Without a ballast, the fluorescent lamp would take in so much power it would ultimately burn itself out. Now that we know the main pieces of a fluorescent lamp, we can better understand how they all work together to create light.

The first step to making light with a fluorescent lamp is electricity. This electricity first passes through the ballast, which acts as a management tool for the power that goes into the fluorescent lamp. This keeps it from burning itself out. The amount of electricity to power the lamp will vary by the size of the lamp.

It also matters whether the lamp is cold when turning on, or if a starter switch will preheat it. Once the lamp is on, electricity flows in and will pass through the electrodes on either end of the lamp. This creates an electric current arc between the two, and flows through the inert gas inside the lamp.

This is what starts the electrons stirring up and flowing through the inert gas. This arc of electricity now begins to warm up the mercury that is also inside the lamp. This causes the mercury to vaporize. As electronics and ions aka charged atoms flow through the vaporized mercury, they literally smash into the mercury vapor's atoms. This excites them and causes the electrons to move up to increase their energy level. When the electrons come back down to their normal energy level, they create UV light wavelengths.

This is where the phosphor coating on the inside of the glass lamp comes in. When UV light hits the phosphors, it stimulates their electrons, releasing light. This time it's a white light that we can see, and the fluorescent lamp is now on. Once all the fluorescent lamp's components are creating light, the amount of electricity it needs to keep going is minimal.

It is much smaller than what a traditional incandescent bulb uses, making fluorescent lamps an energy saving alternative. The energy-efficiency and longevity of fluorescent lamps have gradually made them viable alternatives to the incandescent bulb. There is a huge variety of fluorescent lamps available in the market. This allows commercial space owners to choose the ones that exactly meets their needs and budget.