Re: Dissecting CFLs

[andrew@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (Andrew Gabriel)]

In article <yN6dne0Pn5XGRPfbnZ2dnUVZ_ruknZ2d@xxxxxxx>,
	"Robert Green" <ROBERT_GREEN1963@xxxxxxxxx> writes:
> "Andrew Gabriel" <andrew@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
>> This will not have any impact on a tube flickering when exposed to static.
>> A while back, I added detailed description of the common tube failure
>> modes to the Wikipedia fluorescent lamp page:
>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluorescent_lamp#Mechanisms_of_lamp_failure_at_end_of_life
>
> Good job!   It seems quite fair and balanced to me, and I see something I
> can add:  lots of migraine sufferers are bothered intensely by the light of
> fluorescent lamps of all types.  Long before a dying fluorescent's flicker
> is noticed by me, it's giving my wife migraines.

I added the reason for this some time back -- see last paragraph of
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluorescent_lamp#Electrical_aspects_of_operation
This would not apply to electronic control gear in any case.
You'll need to find a scientific reference for the flicker causing
migraines, or it would likely be removed as unsubstantiated.
Unsubstantiated psychological and physiological effects are
normally removed from the fluorescent lamp article quite quickly.

> I don't know why wiki's got such a bad rep - it's really remarkable.  It's
> better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.  I thought the failure
> mode would involve loss of seal integrity but now I understand the complex
> processes involved in CFL failures.  The only way to reliably test the tube
> on the duff bulb, it seems, would be to hook it up to known good
> electronics.

Yes. Another test would be to apply a certain voltage to the
filaments. This will vary depending on the tube, but something
like 6V should generate a white fluorescent glow from the
phosphor around the filament, indicating the filament is
emitting electrons under thermionic emission into the gas.
An orange glow from the filament without the fluorescence
would indicate the filament can no longer emit electrons
under thermionic emission into the gas, and the tube is dead.

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]