Re: mercury vs amalgam in CFLs

"Victor Roberts" <xxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:lmkrv25skg00ate9o7etsorvoqlsjna67c@xxxxxxxxxx
[snip]

Some amalgam lamps use a dual amalgam system with one
amalgam that is heated by the electrodes or some other means
to dump mercury into the discharge as soon as power is
applied. I even have a patent on a version of this idea :-)

Amalgam Heating System For Solenoidal Electric Field Lamps
U.S. Patent #4,437,041, March 13, 1984.
http://www.robertsresearchinc.com/Patents/US4437041.pdf

Fascinating. I guess it is too much speculation to infer how the SL-18W [*]
releases mercury or what kind of mercury release mechanisms it uses, but
obviously mercury must be released very slowly because of the very low initial
lumen output and the fact that the lamp takes as long as 3 minutes to reach
optimum output. Maybe in newer systems (such as in the DULUX 21W) more modern
methods such as yours are employed and mercury is released faster in the arc
stream?

Are these lamps (or some variation thereof) you describe in the .pdf manual
used today?
If not the lamps what about the proposed mercury release mechanism?

How old is this mercury amalgam technology anyway? I see from your patent that
it goes at least back to 1981. Do the classic linear fluorescents use
amalgams? Did they always? At least to my eyes, back in 1978-80, when I was
firing regular 40W old-style daylight halophosphates, the maximum output was
reached almost instantly. How come?

[snip]

The amalgams used in lamps are formulated to have the proper
mercury vapor pressure, ~ 6 microns, at temperatures of ~ 60
to 100C, or whatever other temperature will be present in
the lamp. I don't know much about the amalgams used in
dentistry, but I assume they are formulated to have much
lower mercury vapor pressures at 37 C than the amalgams used
in lamps. (Which also use lead, something else you would not
want in your mouth.)

Yes, I guess so. Perhaps the silver-mercury dental amalgam then is chosen
specifically to have the lowest possible vapor pressure at 37 C. Still, I find
it kind of hard to believe that *NO* mercury whatsoever is released.

Thanks.

[*] The Sl-18W by PHILIPS is pictured in entry [13] (top right one) along with
some other more modern CFLs:
http://ioannis.virtualcomposer2000.com/spectroscope/collection.html

--
Vic Roberts
http://www.RobertsResearchInc.com
--
I.N. Galidakis
http://ioannis.virtualcomposer2000.com/

.

Relevant Pages

  • Poor DISHONEST Mark Thorson
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