Sulfur lamp
A sulfur lamp, sulfur ball bulb, is a design of an induction lamp is one of the microwave lamps. It consists of a filled with traces of sulfur and argon gas quartz glass ball. To change the color temperature also small traces of other substances are added. In the ball, a plasma is generated by microwaves of a magnetron.
Construction
In contrast to gas discharge lamps requires the sulfur lamp, like all lamps and the induction Nullode, no electrodes. Because of the high temperatures that arise in the quartz glass of the ball, it is held in rotation and thereby cooled. This causes a lower stems, the turbine blade-like Fächerungen has. It rotates in the air stream generated by a fan inside of the magnetron. In case of failure of this cooling, the ball would melt after about 20 seconds.
Sulfur lamps achieve a similar level of light output as fluorescent lamps. You have a balanced light spectrum with about 5,700 K to 6,000 K color temperature and therefore provide very effective white light sources dar. By regulating the power of the magnetron are sulfur lamps dimmable well, their color spectrum remains stable.
Due to the high luminous flux, the lamps are usually not placed directly on site., The light is instead performed by means of light guides in the space. This makes this type of lamp maintenance.
Presumably due to the relatively high complexity devices ( power supply for the magnetron, the microwave shield, temperatures ), this long lamp not commercially available. Applications were limited to individual sites with a demonstration character. Since 2006, LG Electronics sulfur lamps produced under the name "Plasma Lighting System " (PLS lamps offered as sulfur plasma lamps). They are often used as illumination in television studios or artificial light for plants.
Typical system parameters
- Power consumption: 1,400 W
- Bead diameter: about 30 mm
- Luminous flux: 135,000 lumens
- Start time: 25 s
- Lifetime ( bulb): 60,000 h
- Life ( magnetron): 20,000 h
- Luminous efficiency: 95 lm / W
- Color rendering index: 94 CRI
History
Was invented in the sulfur ball lamp 1990 by scientists who were working for Fusion Systems Corporation in Rockville, Maryland. It was further developed by the U.S. company specially founded Fusion Lighting in Rockville, Maryland. By illuminating with a conventional magnetron, as it is also used in the microwave oven, the glass bulb starts to glow brightly. This led to the discovery, as an employee of the company put the filled glass ball inside the microwave oven of the research laboratory.
The company Fusion Lighting ' In 1997 a complete system consisting of two headlamps and a light conductor tunnel ( Lightpipe ) developed from reflective polycarbonate ( 3M ). As a demonstration plant unit was installed in the Department of Energy in Washington DC in the entrance hall. This unit, consisting of a 80 -meter-long fluorescent tube located at both ends with headlights, replaced 240 mercury lamps, which together had about 42 kW. The power consumption could be reduced by 72%.
In the Smithsonian National Museum in Washington, one of the first prototype was exhibited next to the light bulb by Thomas Edison.
In the year 1998 ( DOE) in the aircraft maintenance hangar Hill Air Force Base ( AFB Hill ), south of Ogden, Utah, USA, a major experimental facility with 104 units was built in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Energy. The reflective light guide tubes were each about 31 m in length and on both sides of a 1 per kW headlights.
In 2000, the website disappeared from Fusion Lighting. It was known that the light tunnel did not meet the expectations as they yellowed. Then there was silence around this invention.
On 21 February 2009, the Mirror reported in its edition on the page 128 under the heading of lighting technology over Eternal Light - The sulfur ball lamp. Then would a British company to market the sulfur ball lamp in the near future as a headlight. However, it is already offered by the Korean company "HK industry co.ltd " as headlights floodlighting and a lamp to illuminate halls. The performance of the headlamps offered for indoor and outdoor use as well as for street lights, is between 0.3 kW ( street lights ) and 1 kW ( floodlight ).