In the last decade there has been a growing concern among the population about the responsible use of electricity. One of the reflections of this is that most people changed their house lamps, which used to be mostly incandescent, and started using fluorescent ones.
→ What is the difference between these two types of lamps?
First, the functioning. THE incandescent lamp has inside a small filament of tungsten. When an electric current passes through it, it heats the atoms that compose it, generating light. During this process, much of the electrical energy is transformed into heat. This can be noticed by the rise in temperature in the vicinity of one of these lamps when lit.
already the fluorescent lamps they consist of a tube that has inside a pair of electrodes at its ends, a low pressure gas and Mercury. When an electric current is established in the lamp, because the gas is of low pressure, it starts to conduct electricity. The mercury molecules then collide with the electrons coming from the electrodes, and this shock produces the excitation and ionization of the molecules. When this excitation "ends", the gases return to their fundamental state of energy and emit photons with the frequency of visible light.
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Most of the energy supplied to these lamps is transformed into light. very little energy loss. This makes them more economical. Another advantage is the useful life they have, which can reach 8 thousand hours, while incandescents last an average of a thousand hours, as the tungsten filament wears out with the use of the lamp. As much as fluorescent lamps have this series of advantages, they are still sold at very high prices. Another point to be noted is how to dispose of them, since they contain mercury, which is an element toxic for animals and humans.
By Mariane Mendes
Graduated in Physics
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
TEIXEIRA, Mariane Mendes. "Differences between fluorescent and incandescent lamps"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/fisica/diferencas-entre-lampadas-fluorescentes-incandescentes.htm. Accessed on June 27, 2021.
