Joule Thief

[Pirate88179]

NOP:

Here is my educated guess.  I think that JT's and Dr Stiffler's SEC can light tubes because, at 60 hz there is not enough excitement of the gas inside the tube so they need to add the amps to heat the filament.  We can do it because we have substituted higher volts and frequency to excite the atoms in the tube to the same end without the heating effect of the element wich is probably just a resistasnce heater like on a stove (but smaller, of course) and requires amps to heat.

Just a guess based on observations, I have no emphirical data to back this up.

Bill

[gadgetmall]

NOP:

Here is my educated guess.  I think that JT's and Dr Stiffler's SEC can light tubes because, at 60 hz there is not enough excitement of the gas inside the tube so they need to add the amps to heat the filament.  We can do it because we have substituted higher volts and frequency to excite the atoms in the tube to the same end without the heating effect of the element wich is probably just a resistasnce heater like on a stove (but smaller, of course) and requires amps to heat.

Just a guess based on observations, I have no emphirical data to back this up.

Bill

Your are right Bill . and you have long tubes look at th ebottom and tilt it back and forth . see the liquid mercury . Also mercury is solid or rather liquid at room temperature not a gas . it only is vapor when heated !
Read all about em here and the element mercury
http://home.howstuffworks.com/fluorescent-lamp1.htm

http://theodoregray.com/PeriodicTable/Elements/080/index.html

GADGET

[TheNOP]

@gadgetmall
i am not arguing with you.
my point is that you only see one of the posible mercury states at room temperature.
the heaters are not needed after the cfl is in operation.

you are right about the money stuff.
but there are also other things to consider.
the rf can become problematic in a lots of ways.


@Pirate88179
yes, the frequency a the key factor in making the discharges in the tube.
whitch in turn excite the mercury, that when excited will emit UV, etc...

but it is wrong to assume lot of heat is needed to turn liquid mercury into its vapor state.
mercury already release its nocive vapor at room temperature.

[gadgetmall]

@gadgetmall
i am not arguing with you.
my point is that you only see one of the posible mercury states at room temperature.
the heaters are not needed after the cfl is in operation.


@Pirate88179
yes, the frequency a the key factor in making the discharges in the tube.
whitch in turn excite the mercury, that when excited will emit UV, etc...

but it is wrong to assume lot of heat is needed to turn liquid mercury into its vapor state.
mercury already release its nocive vapor at room temperature.

ok

[Pirate88179]

NOP:

I don't disagree with that and let's also consider that, at room temperature as you say, that would also be at atmospheric pressure which in the tube is way, way less so, to me, any out gassing of the mercury vapor would be enhanced by the partial vacuum.  So, I don't really know.  Perhaps we would never see the full light output of a tube no matter how high a voltage and freq. we put into it without those elements?  I assume (bad word) they are there for a reason as it costs money to put them there and if they did not need them, they would not be there.

So, I can see both sides of this just from observations.  But, as Gadget said, you can light a tube without those elements. 

In a nutshell:  I don't know.

Bill