how does the fluorescent light bulb work

We'll also see why black lights make some objects glow but not others, and we'll look at some interesting black light applications. In this article, we'll find out exactly what's going on here. Many amusement parks use hand stamps that are invisible until you view them under black light. You may have also seen pieces of paper that look blank in regular light but spell out a glowing message under a black light. Fluorescent lamps have one of the most elaborate systems for exciting atoms, as we'll see in the next section.For example, if you have a fluorescent poster and shine a black light on it in a dark room, the poster will glow brightly. In an incandescent light source, such as an ordinary light bulb or gas lamp, atoms are excited by heat in a light stick, atoms are excited by a chemical reaction.

The main difference between these sources is the process of exciting the atoms. This is the basic mechanism at work in nearly all light sources. In other words, the color of the light is determined by what kind of atom is excited.

Consequently, different sorts of atoms will release different sorts of light photons. The wavelength of the emitted light depends on how much energy is released, which depends on the particular position of the electron. As it returns to its original orbital, the electron releases the extra energy in the form of a photon, in some cases a light photon. The electron only holds this position for a tiny fraction of a second almost immediately, it is drawn back toward the nucleus, to its original orbital. When something passes energy on to an atom - heat, for example - an electron may be temporarily boosted to a higher orbital (farther away from the nucleus). When an atom gains or loses energy, the change is expressed by the movement of electrons.

How does the fluorescent light bulb work