LIGHT SOURCES: THEIR CHARACTERISTICS AND APPLICATION

Electrical lighting had its real beginning in about 1870 with the development of commercially usable arc
lamps and was given greater impetus nine years later by Edison's first practical incandescent lamp.

INCANDESCENT LAMPS

The Incandescent Filament lamp

This lamp consists simply of a tungsten filament inside a gas-filled, sealed glass envelope as
shown in the figure below. Current passing through the high-resistance filament heats it to
Incandescence, producing light. Gradual evaporation of the filament causes the familiar blackening of
the bulbs and eventual filament rupture and lamp failure.

FLUORESCENT LAMPS

The Fluorescent Lamp-Construction

The second major category of light sources is that of electric discharge lamps, of which the
fluorescent lamp is the best known and most widely used type. It has become so popular since its major
introduction in 193 7 that it has almost completely supplanted the incandescent lamp in all fields, except
specialty lighting and residential use. The typical fluorescent lamp comprises a cylindrical glass tube
sealed at both ends and containing a mixture of an inert gas, generally argon, and low pressure mercury
vapor. Built into each end is a cathode that supplies the electrons to start and maintain the mercury ~rc,
or gaseous discharge. The short-wave ultraviolet light, which is produced by the phosphors with which
the inside of the tube is coated and is reradiated in the visible light range. The fluorescent lamp is so
called because its phosphors fluoresce, or radiate light, when exposed to ultraviolet light. The particular
mixture of phosphors used governs the spectral quality of the light output.

HIGH-INTENSITY DISCHARGE (HID) LAMPS

These lamps have inherently high efficacy and, with appropriate color correction, can be utilized
in any application, indoor or outdoor, that does not have critical color criteria.