Talk:Fluorescent lamp
Efficiency
Should have more about the efficiency, like Compact fluorescent light bulb has.
Also mention the flicker annoying some people, and how it is reduced in some by upping the frequency? - Omegatron 02:35, May 28, 2005 (UTC)
Are the 2 sentences I added including "... Dr. J. Veitch ..." sufficient detail on flicker? I agree that efficiency info would be good, but I'd prefer a big table in Lighting that listed efficiency for every kind all in one place. --DavidCary 23:56, 30 September 2005 (UTC)
Color Rendering Index and tomato juice
One substance that changes its apparent color dramatically under many fluirescent lamps is tomato juice. Being bright red normally, it turns then to an unpleasant brick-brown. — Monedula 10:30, 30 May 2005 (UTC)
Make "fluorescent fun" more encyclopedic
"Fluorescent fun" ... "Alternatively, if you happen to have a Tesla coil handy, you can ..." Somehow this whole chapter doesn't strike me as very encyclopedic. The same content could be included in the article, but under a better title than "Fluorescent fun" and written in a more matter-of-fact manner. -- 130.233.26.180 06:40, 18 Jun 2005 (UTC)
Organization
I reorganized the page a bit just now, because the second heading was completely blank. It looked to me that it just needed to have its sub-sections demoted, (which is what I did), but if it was actually blank due to vandalism, could someone fix it? I couldn't see any tons'o'deletion vandalism in recent edits...Stillnotelf 17:48, 1 October 2005 (UTC)
How much mercury?
Just how much mercury vapour do these things contain? I am wondering since one exploded over me when I was young. Crusadeonilliteracy 13:11, 9 Jan 2004 (UTC)
- I hope my recent edit ("about 12 milligrams of mercury" with a link to more details) answers your question. I still wonder -- when the lamp is turned off, does the mercury condense into a liquid, or is there so little mercury in there that it's always mercury vapor? --DavidCary 23:56, 30 September 2005 (UTC)
- Mercury weighs a lot, so 12 mg isn't necessarily a lot. I've seen broken fluorescent bulbs in school buildings, and mercury spills in school buildings generally involve evacuation, hazmat teams, the whole shebang. Since we weren't being evacuated, I'd say there's no liquid mercury. Stillnotelf 17:48, 1 October 2005 (UTC)
- Whether the mercury is liquid or not depends on the temperature of the fluorescent tube. At operating temperatures, it's usually just about all gaseous, but at low temperatures, it definitely condenses out into droplets; it's this phenomenon that makes it much harder to start and operate a fluorescent lamp at low temperatures (where they often need an insulating sleeve or other enclosure around the lamp to allow them to reach proper operating temperature). You might try experimenting with an ice cube (on a de-energized lamp!).
- Regardless, the amount of mercury in a single fluorescent lamp is pretty harmless, but fluorescent tubes become a problem when they enter the waste stream en mass and are landfilled or incinerated. (In the old days, the phosphors were also very toxic, but they're pretty safe nowadays.)