Lamp - fluorescent

This UV radiation is converted into visible radiation by means of the fluorescence of the phosphor powder coating. The phosphor material uses the UV radiation as an excitation source and produces fluorescent emission in the visible region, with a broad spectrum to give off the white light that we can see. A good variety of combinations of phosphors are used (Shionoya and Yen, 1999). The principal field of application of fluorescent lamps is general lighting, for which they constitute efficient devices. 

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Fluorescent dyes Fluorescent lamps Fluorescent lights Fluorescent pigments... 

Nickel fluoride is used in marking ink compositions (see Inks), for fluorescent lamps (4) as a catalyst in transhalogenation of fluoroolefins (5), in the manufacture of varistors (6), as a catalyst for hydrofluorination (7), in the synthesis of XeF (8), and in the preparation of high purity elemental fluorine for research (9) and for chemical lasers (qv) (10). 

Nonradiative Decay. To have technical importance, a luminescent material should have a high efficiency for conversion of the excitation to visible light. Photoluminescent phosphors for use in fluorescent lamps usually have a quantum efficiency of greater than 0.75. AH the exciting quanta would be reemitted as visible light if there were no nonradiative losses. 

In fluorescent lamps, phosphors are coated on the inside of the lamp tube using a slurry containing the powder and a Hquid which is either poured down through the tube, up-flushed, or in some cases the tubes are filled and then drained. Because of concerns over having volatile organic solvents in the air, the hquid medium containing the powder is usually water with an added agent, a thickener, to increase the viscosity of the suspension, such as poly(methacryhc... 

The Calcium Halophosphate Phosphors. Early fluorescent lamps used various combinations of naturally occurring fluorescent minerals. The development of the calcium halophosphate phosphor, Ca (P0 2(Cl, F) Sb ", Mn, in the 1940s was a significant breakthrough in fluorescent lighting (7). As is often the case in new phosphor discoveries, this phosphor was found accidentally while searching for phosphors for radar screens. 

Fig. 6. A portion of the CIE color diagram where X and Y define the color. The shaded area shows the range of color of fluorescent lamps using calcium...

Because it is stiU by far the most commonly used phosphor in fluorescent lamps, calcium halophosphate total production far exceeds that of all other phosphors put together, in excess of 1000 metric tons per year. 

The cost of rare-earth phosphors in fluorescent lamps is often reduced by double coating the lamps. The rare-earth phosphor blend is coated over a base layer of the inexpensive halophosphate phosphor (Fig. 9). In this configuration it absorbs a disproportionate amount of the uv discharge. For example, about 70% of the uv is absorbed in the inner coating with only one layer of triphosphor particles on the inside. 

Fig. 9. A modem fluorescent lamp coating including a conductive layer of Sn02 F, then a protective coating of finely divided alumina, followed by the inexpensive halophosphate phosphor, and finally a thin layer of the triphosphor rare-earth blend.

California and Minnesota have placed restrictions on the disposal of fluorescent light tubes, which contain from 40—50 mg of mercury per tube, depending on size. After batteries, fluorescent lamps are the second largest contributor of mercury in soHd waste streams in the United States (3,14). A California law classifies the disposal of 25 or more fluorescent lamp tubes as hazardous waste. In Minnesota, all waste lamps generated from commercial sources are considered hazardous waste. Private homes are, however, exempt from the law (14). Other states have proposed similar regulations. Several companies have developed technologies for recovering mercury from spent lamps (14). 

Binders in Ceramics, Powder Metallurgy, and Water-Based Coatings of Fluorescent Lamps. In coatings and ceramics appHcations, the suspension rheology needs to be modified to obtain a uniform dispersion of fine particles in the finished product. When PEO is used as a binder in aqueous suspensions, it is possible to remove PEO completely in less than 5 min by baking at temperatures of 400°C. This property has been successfully commercialized in several ceramic appHcations, in powder metallurgy, and in water-based coatings of fluorescent lamps (164—168). 

Fig. 11. Energy distributions of CIE standard illuminant A, a tungsten incandescent lamp a cool white fluorescent lamp E and CIE standard illuminant...

Color-order systems, such as the many MunseU collections available from Macbeth, have been described previously. Essential for visual color matching is a color-matching booth. A typical one, such as the Macbeth Spectrahte, may have available a filtered 7500 K incandescent source equivalent to north-sky daylight, 2300 K incandescent illumination as horizon sunlight, a cool-white fluorescent lamp at 4150 K, and an ultraviolet lamp. By using the various illuminants, singly or in combination, the effects of metamerism and fluorescence can readily be demonstrated and measured. Every user should be checked for color vision deficiencies. 

Donor and acceptor levels are the active centers in most phosphors, as in zinc sulfide [1314-98-3] ZnS, containing an activator such as Cu and various co-activators. Phosphors are coated onto the inside of fluorescent lamps to convert the intense ultraviolet and blue from the mercury emissions into lower energy light to provide a color balance closer to daylight as in Figure 11. Phosphors can also be stimulated directly by electricity as in the Destriau effect in electroluminescent panels and by an electron beam as in the cathodoluminescence used in television and cathode ray display tubes and in (usually blue) vacuum-fluorescence alphanumeric displays. 

As an alternative to radiation, a stain such as ethidium bromide is used to visualize DNA. The ethidium may be incorporated into the stmcture of DNA either before or after electrophoresis. The gel is then visualized under a fluorescent lamp. 

Acrylic is a generic name for derivatives of acrylic acid, of which methyl methacrylate is the most important. Polymerization is controlled to produce chain length of 800 to 3,000 monomer units. A small amount of plasticizer such as dibutyl phthalate may be added before bulk polymerization to assist in deep molding. The outstanding property of polymethyl metliacrylate is 0 transparency resistance to ultraviolet radiation from fluorescent lamps and ability to be... 

K2CO3 (from KOH and CO2), used chiefly in high-quality decorative glassware, in optical lenses, colour TV lubes and fluorescent lamps il is also used in china ware, textile dyes and pigments. 

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