Link to Home: Lighting A Revolution  

 

Webnotes 9-1 to 9-2

Webnote 9-1   |   Webnote 9-2


Webnote 9-1

Sources of information about competition in compact fluorescent lamps:

  • Annual "New Products" and "Progress Report" in Lighting Design & Application.

  • Albern, William F., "Replace Incandescents with Fluorescents," in Lighting Design & Application, January 1987, p.36.
  • Bouwknegt, A., "Compact Fluorescent Lamps," in Journal of the Illuminating Engineering Society, July 1982, V.11, #4, p.204.
  • Lamarre, Leslie, "Lighting The Commercial World," in The EPRI Journal, December 1989, p.4.
  • "Lighting Products," in Electrical Construction & Maintenance, November 1994, p.76.
  • McCully, Robert A., "Development History of More Efficient Lamp Designs," in Energy Engineering, 1990, V.87, #1, p.29.

  • Department of Energy Collections, 1992.0466, 1999.0324. Electricity Collections, National Museum of American History.
  • Duro-Test Collection, 1997.0062. Electricity Collections, National Museum of American History.
  • General Electric CR&D Collection, 1998.0050. Electricity Collections, National Museum of American History.
  • General Electric NELA Park Collections, 1992.0428, 1997.0388, 1998.0231. Electricity Collections, National Museum of American History.
  • Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory Collection, 1992.0553. Electricity Collections, National Museum of American History.
  • Philips (US) Collection, 1997.0389. Electricity Collections, National Museum of American History.
  • Potomac Electric Power Company Collection, 1996.0357. Electricity Collections, National Museum of American History.

  • Department of Energy File, Lighting Research Collection. Electricity Collections, National Museum of American History.
  • Lighting Catalog Reference Collection. Electricity Collections, National Museum of American History.
  • LightFair Reference File (1995, 98, 99). Electricity Collections, National Museum of American History.

Sources of information about modern competition in general:

  • Jones, Robert, and Oliver Marriott, Anatomy of a Merger: A History of G.E.C., A.E.I., and English Electric, (London: Jonathan Cape Ltd., 1970).

  • Aldington, J.N., "Lamps and Lighting - A Vision of the Future." in Illuminating Engineering, February 1953, V.48, #2, p.82.
  • Annual "Lighting Report," in GE Review.
  • Collins, B.R., and C.I. McVey, "HPS lamps for use on HPM ballasts," in Lighting Design & Application, September 1975, p.18.
  • DeLaney, W.B. and D.A. MacLennan, "A Financial Decision Technique for Choosing Between Alternative Lighting Systems," in Journal of the Illuminating Engineering Society, Jan. 72, V.1, #2, p.119.
  • Koedam, M., R.L.C. de Vaan, and T.G. Verbeek, "Further improvement of the LPS lamp," in Lighting Design & Application, September 1975, p.39.
  • Lake, William H. "New mercury lamp systems for direct incandescent lamp replacement," in Lighting Design & Application, October 1975, #10, p.33.
  • Light Sources Committee, "Choosing Light Sources for General Lighting," in Illuminating Engineering, May 67, V.62, #5, p.319.
  • Lighting Issue, IEE Proceedings, April 1980, V.127, Pt.A, #3.
  • Loytty, Eric, "A new arc tube for HPS lamps," in Lighting Design & Application, February 1976, p.14.
  • McGowan, Terry K., "HPS and LPS - a primer," in Lighting Design & Application, December 1974, p.19.
  • Rosenberg, Nathan, "Factors Affecting the Diffusion of Technology," in Explorations in Economic History, Fall 1972, V.10, #1, p.3.
  • Till, W.S. and J.R. Jones, "Which Mercury Lamp is Best?" in Illuminating Engineering, May 1951, V.46, #5, p.251.
  • Weiss, Peter, "Lighting the Way Towards More Efficient Lighting," in Home Energy News, January/February 1989, p.16.

TOP TO SCRIPT TO WEBNOTE INDEX


Webnote 9-2

"Out of the Blue" and "Two-Stage Light" were designed by Thomas M. O'Brien, Interactive Exhibit Developer, National Museum of American History. These activities are intended to demonstrate how a fluorescent lamp works.

"Two-Stage Light" provides a look inside fluorescent tubes. Two tubes are shown, each with only a partial coating of phosphor (the white, powdery material on the inside of the tube). One tube is operating and the other is off. Tiny drops of mercury are seen condensed on the inner bulb-wall of the unlighted tube. An electric current passing between two electrodes in the lighted tube heats a gas that vaporizes the mercury.

Fluorescent tubes make white light in two stages. Stage 1: ultraviolet rays radiate from mercury atoms excited by the electric current. Stage 2: the tube's phosphor coating absorbs the ultraviolet and emits visible light.

It takes very little energy to maintain the current through the mercury vapor and make lots of ultraviolet rays for the phosphors to convert to visible light. This is why fluorescent lamps are so energy-efficient.

"Out of the Blue" shows how the phosphors work. A special fluorescent lamp in the display produces ultraviolet rays that give energy to phosphors coated on each of three panels. Each panel is coated with a different phosphor, and thus radiates a different color light. These colors can be combined to create white light by sliding the panels so that they overlap.

A fluorescent lamp emits white light because it has a carefully formulated mixture of phosphors coated on the inside of the tube.

Sources of information about the science and engineering of phosphors:

  • Cayless, M.A., and A.M. Marsden, eds., Lamps and Lighting, 3rd ed., (London: Arnold, 1983).
  • Elenbaas, Willem, ed., Fluorescent Lamps, 2nd ed., (London: MacMillan Press Ltd., 1971).
  • Kane, Raymond, and Heinz Sell, eds., Revolution in Lamps: A Chronicle of 50 Years of Progress, (New York: Upword Publishing Co., 1997).
  • Waymouth, John, Electric Discharge Lamps, (Cambridge, MA.: The MIT Press, 1971).

  • Bril, A., and W. L. Wanmaker, "Fluorescent Properties of Some Europium-Activated Phosphors," in Journal of the Electrochemical Society, December 1964, V.111, #12, p.1363
  • Bril, A., W.L. Wanmaker, and C.D.J.C. de Laat, "Fluorescent Properties of Red-Emitting Europium-Activated Phosphors with Cathode Ray Excitation," in Journal of the Electrochemical Society, January 1965, V.112, #1, p.111.
  • Bril, A., and W.L. Wanmaker, "New Phosphors for Colour Television," in Philips Technical Review, January 1966, V.27, #1, p.22.
  • Haft, H.H., and W.A. Thornton, "High Performance Fluorescent Lamps," in Journal of the Illuminating Engineering Society, October 1972, V.2, #1, p.29.
  • Jack, A. G., and L. E. Vrenken, "Fluorescent lamps and low pressure sodium lamps," in IEE Proceedings, April 1980, V.127, Pt.A, #3, p.149.
  • Jenkins, H.G., A.H. McKeag, and P.W. Ranby, "Alkaline Earth Halophosphates and Related Phosphors," in Journal of the Electrochemical Society, July 1949, V.96, #1, p.1.
  • Sommerdijk, J.L., and A.L.N. Stevels, "The Behaviour of Phosphors with Aluminate Host Lattices," in Philips Technical Review, September 1977, V.37, #9/10, p.221.
  • Thayer, Richard N., and Bentley T. Barnes, "The Basis for High Efficiency in Fluorescent Lamps," in Journal of the Optical Society of America, March 1939, V.29, p.131.
  • Verstegen, J.M.P.J. "A Survey of a Group of Phosphors, Based on Hexagonal Aluminate and Gallate Host Lattices," in Journal of the Electrochemical Society, December 1974, V.121, #12, p.1623.
  • Vrenken, L.E. "Fluorescent lamps with very high luminous efficiency," in Lighting Research and Technology, 1978, V.10, #3, p.161.

  • United States Patent #865,367 to Thomas Edison, 1907.
  • United Kingdom Patent #457,486 to Jenkins, 1936.
  • United Kingdom Patent #469 732 to Randall, 1937.
  • United Kingdom Patent #469 913 to Randall, 1937.
  • United Kingdom Patent #495 706 to McKeag, Randall, 1938.
  • United States Patent #2,270,105 to Bowtell, Jenkins, McKeag, 1942.
  • United States Patent #2,270,276 to Doering, 1942.
  • United States Patent #2,297,048 to Britten, Jenkins, McKeag, 1942.
  • United States Patent #2,297,108 to McKeag, Ranby, 1942.
  • United Kingdom Patent #578 192 to McKeag, Ranby, 1946.
  • United Kingdom Patent #578 195 to McKeag, Ranby, 1946.
  • United Kingdom Patent #578 272 to McKeag, Ranby, 1946.
  • United Kingdom Patent #580 363 to McKeag, Ranby, 1946.
  • United States Patent #2,748,303 to Luke Thorington, 1956.
  • United States Patent #3,707,641 to William Thornton, 1972.

  • Science Service Historical Image Collection, Photographic Series 25. Electricity Collections, National Museum of American History.

TOP TO SCRIPT TO WEBNOTE INDEX

 



To Webnotes 8 To Webnotes 10

 
To 19th
Century Hall
To 20th
Century Hall
To
Guest Lounge