I had recently posted on the good announcement
of Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa that Tamil Nadu will be a power-cut free State
Conservation of energy has been a pet topic
for long …. and remember the ‘gundu bulb’ – before we read any further, the
light bulbs that were in use earlier had vacuum and once punctured, they will
not function – in fact would break into pieces. An incandescent light bulb, is an electric
light which produces light with a wire filament heated to a high temperature by
an electric current passing through it, until it glows. The hot filament is protected from oxidation
with a glass or quartz bulb that is filled with inert gas or evacuated. The light
bulb is supplied with electrical current by feed-through terminals or wires
embedded in the glass. Most bulbs are used in a socket which provides
mechanical support and electrical connections.
One of the problems of the standard electric light bulb is evaporation
of the filament. In a conventional lamp, the evaporated tungsten eventually
condenses on the inner surface of the glass envelope, darkening it. For bulbs
that contain a vacuum, the darkening is uniform across the entire surface of
the envelope. Can you imagine opening a bulb ? - and it still functioning later... ?!?!?
Sure we remember - Thomas Alva Edison (1847 – 1931) one of
the most prolific inventor who changed the lives of people with his electric
bulb and more including the phonograph, the motion picture camera. After
passage of decades it was stated that the
incandescent light bulb is not very innovative. It hasn't changed much since
Thomas Edison introduced it in 1879. A good deal of electricity -- electricity
from coal-fired powered plants responsible for spewing greenhouse gases into
the atmosphere -- is required to make an incandescent bulb burn brightly ~
Then came the theory that one should use
only CFL – the compact fluorescent light bulb, as its illumination comes by way of a much
different mechanism. Instead of a glowing filament, CFLs contain argon and
mercury vapor housed within a spiral-shaped tube. CFL would use only one-fifth
to one-third the electric power, and last eight to fifteen times longer. A CFL
has a higher purchase price than an incandescent lamp, but can save over five
times its purchase price in electricity costs over the lamp's lifetime, is what
was claimed.
It was further stated that many of the 60-watt electric
bulbs brands in India Europe have stopped production. The 60W has long been the bulb of choice for
the modestly-sized rooms in the typical Indian homes – not any longer as people have
shifted to energy-saving light bulbs – again the market is flooded low cost,
low quality Chinese and Korean brands. The
Indian brands cost much, come with a guarantee – but many seemingly settle for
the lower price.
Away from traditional bulb and CFL – there are
now LED lamps – that can be opened on top ….and interesting patterns observed …. An LED lamp is a light-emitting diode (LED)
product that is assembled into a lamp for use in lighting fixtures. LED lamps
have a lifespan and electrical efficiency that is several times better than
incandescent lamps, and significantly better than most fluorescent lamps, with
some chips able to emit more than 100 lumens per watt. The LED lamp market is
projected to grow more than 12-fold over the next decade. Like incandescent
lamps and unlike most fluorescent lamps, LED lights come to full brightness
without need for a warm-up time; the life of fluorescent lighting is also reduced
by frequent switching on and off.
The convenience is that they fit into existing
holders and do not require any other adapter … and they look quite different
too .. LEDs do not emit light in all
directions, and their directional characteristics affect the design of lamps. Shoppers
do not have to master a lot of technical information before buying an LED bulb
and presently they say, it is the best technology, (perhaps, till it is
outdated by a newer technology)
With regards – S. Sampathkumar
28th May 2014.
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