Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

What kind of a spectrum does a florescent light bulb and an incandescent light bulb create and why? :?

lamba wrote:What kind of a spectrum does a florescent light bulb and an incandescent light bulb create and why?

This information is easily availble on the internet- I know because I actually asked myself this question a few months ago (A chemical I was carrying around looked different colors in the hallways (fluorescent bulb- note the spelling) and the elevator (incandescent bulb) The answer to my question was that the different in the spectrum of the two bulbs was such that the elevator light could photo-excite the compound which made it glow and the hall light didn't).

Anyway, you can find the answer to both your questions (specific spectrum and why they release light) by looking on the interent. Try searching for terms like "spectrum of light bulb", "how a light bulb works", etc. The wikipedia is a great place to start, and even has a graph of the spectrum of different bulbs . Also, the manufacturer of the bulb may have this information on their website. There are a lot of sites selling "full spectrum bulbs" which will turn up in your search. While they are trying to sell you very expensive lightbulbs, they do have a lot of good information about the spectrum of regular bulbs.

Louise