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fluorescent lamp

noun

a tubular electric discharge lamp in which light is produced by the fluorescence of phosphors coating the inside of the tube.

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Nearby words

  1. fluorescence,
  2. fluorescence-activated cell sorter,
  3. fluorescent,
  4. fluorescent antibody technique,
  5. fluorescent antinuclear antibody test,
  6. fluorescent microscope,
  7. fluorescent screen,
  8. fluorescent treponemal antibody absorption test,
  9. fluoric,
  10. fluoridate

Origin of fluorescent lamp

First recorded in 1895–1900
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
British Dictionary definitions for fluorescent lamp

fluorescent lamp

noun

a type of lamp in which an electrical gas discharge is maintained in a tube with a thin layer of phosphor on its inside surface. The gas, which is often mercury vapour, emits ultraviolet radiation causing the phosphor to fluoresce
a type of lamp in which an electrical discharge is maintained in a tube containing a gas such as neon, mercury vapour, or sodium vapour at low pressure. Gas atoms in the discharge are struck by electrons and fluoresce
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Science definitions for fluorescent lamp

fluorescent lamp

[ flu-rĕs′ənt ]

An electric lamp that produces light through fluorescence. In most fluorescent lamps, a mixture of argon and mercury gas contained in a glass bulb is stimulated by an electric current, producing ultraviolet rays. These rays strike a fluorescent phosphor coating on the interior surface of the bulb, causing it to emit visible light. Fluorescent lamps are much more efficient than incandescent lamps because very little energy is lost as heat. Compare incandescent lamp.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.