A complete view of Fluorescent light

The term fluorescent means strikingly bright or glowing or any object possessing the property of fluorescence. In today’s world fluorescent lamps are used everywhere at offices, big warehouses, stores and even homes. Fluorescent light creates when electricity is passed through mercury vapour. It was first patented by American physicist Peter Cooper Hewitt in 1901.Initially the light produced was bluish green and was not appealing enough to light up homes; but it was useful in industries and photographic studios. Later Hewitt’s invention was taken over by GE after taking over the related and relevant patents. Fluorescent lighting gained prominence during World War 2 in lighting factories for the war effort.

In The modern era Compact Fluorescent bulbs were invented in 1976. These bulbs were energy efficient as they used 13 to 25 watts as opposed to the 60 to 100 watts used by incandescent bulbs. In the modern world today there are t5 as well as t8 lamps available. Though Fluorescent lights are energy efficient there are some minor hazards to using them. The use of mercury in the CFL bulbs pose a health hazard as mercury vapour causes major respiratory tract damage, brain damage and central nervous system damage. Hence these bulbs need to be disposed off carefully.

The Fluorescent lights are basically gas filled tubes which are excited by electrical pulses. The item responsible for exciting the gas is called ballast. This particular excitement of the gases causes a flicker which gives a headache and may also give rise to migraine and may also result in fluorescent winter blues. To avoid this one could use a broader spectrum light. The advantages of this particular light has made it utmost popular.