The Chemistry Of Light Bulbs—And Why CFL’s Are Overrated

Light bulbs rely not only on simple materials but on esoteric ions and compounds. And while we take their emissions, visible light, for granted, the inner workings of these deceivingly simple gadgets depend on the complex behaviour of electrons. We’ll discuss four types of light bulbs: incandescent bulbs, halogens, fluorescent lights (including CFL’s) and LED’s. A) INCANDESCENT BULBS The light bulb of the short-lived variety, is the traditional tungsten incandescent bulb. Inside the glass, electricity flows through a thin filament of the element tungsten (chemical symbol, W, for its old name wolfram). read more

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