Xenon(HID) lighting Q's

What is the difference in the bulbs(capsules) that makes one a 3000K, vs 4300K on up to 12000K?

thanks

Reply to
vrgolf
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That's color temperature in degrees Kelvin.

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Reply to
Buerste

Changes to the chemical content of either the vapor or of the phosphors coating the inside of the capsule will alter the color temperature of the lamp.

Reply to
Stuart Wheaton

On Sat, 13 Mar 2010 23:48:26 -0700, the infamous snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com scrawled the following:

In fluorescents, different phosphor coating formulae on the inside of the glass create different color output. I neon, it's different gases which emit different colors.

Dunno 'bout xenon, but for only $249...

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disclaimer applies)

You got me curious, too, so I delved deeper. The answer seems to be that they coat the bulbs with different crystals, which act as filters.

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I like the 6000K, the purply white. It has the highest lumen output, too. My new Tundra has twice the light the old F-150 did so I'm happy as is. No need to install $200 more in lighting.

Since these are metal vapor lamps, this subject is on topic for once.

-- I must study politics and war that my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy. My sons ought to study mathematics and philosophy, geography, natural history, naval architecture, navigation, commerce, and agriculture, in order to give their children a right to study painting, poetry, music, architecture, statuary, tapestry, and porcelain. -- John Adams

Reply to
Larry Jaques

Sort of, but not exactly. Properly speaking, neon glows an orange-red color (but you knew that). For (nearly) all other colors the gas mix is argon with a tiny drop of mercury. The argon provides the initial ionization in order to get the mercury to vaporize and ionize. The mercury gives off predominately UV emissions, which excite the phosphor coating on the inside of the glass tube. The particular choice of phosphor is what provides the specific color in non-neon "neon" lights (just like regular fluorecent lamps). Ar/Hg in clear tubing produces a nice violet light (the UV is filtered out by the glass).

Some other options are using Krypton (no Superman jokes, please!) or Xenon as fill gases in clear tubing; the Xenon light, though dim, is a really cool platinum color. Sometimes Helium is added in Ar/Hg fills to provide more reliable starting in really cold temperatures.

Interestingly (well, to me, anyway) is that phosphor coated tubing produces a different color if you fill it with neon. A blue tubing I've used produces green light when filled with Ne. Some other colors just produce a muddy brown color with a Ne fill.

There, that's Neon 101, in capsule form.

[snip]

Joe

Reply to
Joe

if you look up plasma globe, or "eye of the storm" - you will eventually find a class of devices that use various noble gas mixtures for cool colors and effects

Reply to
Bill Noble

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