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How do metal halide bulbs emit light?
Metal halide bulbs are efficient light sources whose luminescence principle involves a complex process of gas discharge and fluorescence conversion. Let’s take a closer look at how metal halide bulbs produce light.
First, metal halide bulb contain a certain amount of metal halide and rare gases, such as xenon or krypton. Metal halides are usually compounds of some metal elements and halogen elements, such as erbium and iodine, cesium and chlorine, etc. The choice of these elements has an important impact on the luminous performance of the bulb.
The entire process of lighting begins with an arc created by the passage of electricity through the bulb. When an electric current passes through the gas in the light bulb, the arc produced excites the metal halide and converts it into a high-temperature, high-energy gas state. This stage involves the process of ionization and excitation of the gas, in which electrons jump from lower energy levels to higher energy levels, absorbing energy.
Next, the high-energy molecules of the metal halide release part of their energy during collision and cooling, part of which is released in the form of ultraviolet light. This ultraviolet light is invisible light, so it requires further conversion to become visible light to meet actual lighting needs.
In metal halide bulbs, phosphors play a key role. The phosphor is coated on the inside of the bulb or as a coating on the inside of the bulb. This phosphor usually contains fluorescent substances such as radium or samarium. When ultraviolet rays are irradiated on the phosphor, the molecules of the phosphor are excited, and the electrons jump from a high energy level to a low energy level, releasing visible light.
Therefore, the visible light finally produced by the metal halide bulb is a composite process in which the metal halide is excited by gas discharge to produce ultraviolet light, and then the ultraviolet light is converted into visible light by phosphor. In this process, the choice of phosphor type and formula has a decisive impact on the luminous effect and color temperature of the bulb. By adjusting the composition of the metal halide and the formula of the phosphor, lights with different color temperatures and spectral characteristics can be realized to meet the needs of different environments and uses.
The luminescence process of metal halide bulbs is a complex physical process that converts electrical energy into visible light through the interaction of high-temperature gas discharge and fluorescence conversion, providing a lighting solution with high efficiency, high brightness, and long life.