Gas-discharge lamp

Gas-discharge lamps are a family of artificial light sources that generate light by sending an electrical discharge through an ionized gas, a plasma. Typically, such lamps use a noble gas (argon, neon, krypton, and xenon) or a mixture of these gases. Some include additional substances, like mercury, sodium, and metal halides, which are vaporized during startup to become part of the gas mixture. In operation some of the atoms in the gas are positively ionized, losing one of their electrons. The ions are accelerated by the electric field toward whichever electrode is negatively charged at the time. Typically, after traveling a very short distance the ions collide with neutral gas atoms, which transfer their electrons to the ions. The atoms, having lost an electron during the collisions, ionize and speed toward the electrode while the ions, having gained an electron during the collisions, return to a lower energy state, emitting a photon of light of a characteristic frequency. In this way, electrons are relayed through the gas from the negative electrode to the positive. The color of the light produced depends on the emission spectra of the atoms making up the gas, as well as the pressure of the gas, current density, and other variables. Gas discharge lamps can produce a wide range of colors. Some lamps produce ultraviolet radiation which is converted to visible light by a fluorescent coating on the inside of the lamp's glass surface. The fluorescent lamp is perhaps the best known gas-discharge lamp.

Compared to incandescent lamps, gas-discharge lamps offer higher efficiency, but are more complicated to manufacture and require auxiliary electronic equipment such as ballasts to control current flow through the gas. Some gas-discharge lamps also have a perceivable start-up time to achieve their full light output. Still, due to their greater efficiency, gas-discharge lamps are replacing incandescent lights in many lighting applications.

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