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Bulb and Tube

Incandescent bulbs make light by heating a thin wire until it glows. Fluorescent and discharge lamps give more light for the same electricity and last longer.

In the picture

  1. A coiled filament in a glass bulb: a thin wire heated until it glows orange.
  2. A long glass discharge tube: a lamp that glows white along its length.
  3. A spare coiled filament wire: the glowing part used in an incandescent bulb.
  4. A spare glass tube: the outer shape of a fluorescent or discharge lamp.

Examples

  • A clear incandescent bulb in a desk lamp.
  • A long fluorescent tube on a kitchen ceiling.

Quiz: Bulb and Tube (Age 14)

  1. How does an incandescent bulb make light?

    • By making a special powder glow inside the bulb
    • By making a gas glow along a tube
    • By heating a thin wire until it glows
  2. Which lamps give more light for the same amount of electricity and also last longer?

    • Fluorescent and discharge lamps
    • Incandescent bulbs
    • Incandescent bulbs with a thicker filament
  3. In an incandescent bulb, what happens to most of the electrical energy?

    • It becomes an equal amount of light and heat
    • It becomes heat
    • It becomes light

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Technology, Age 14