A circuit in a home provides power to a light fixture. The homeowners want to use a compact fluorescent bulb instead of an incandescent bulb. Compact fluorescent bulbs can produce as much light as incandescent bulbs but with less energy. How is this possible? (1 point)

Question

A circuit in a home provides power to a light fixture. The homeowners want to use a compact fluorescent bulb instead of an incandescent bulb. Compact fluorescent bulbs can produce as much light as incandescent bulbs but with less energy. How is this possible? (1 point)

Incandescent bulbs produce other forms of energy, too, including heat.
Energy is destroyed when it passes through an incandescent bulb.
Fluorescent bulbs have been designed to put out more energy than they receive.
Fluorescent bulbs produce other forms of energy, too. including heat.

Answer 1

Incandescent bulbs produce light by passing an electric current through a thin wire filament, which gets extremely hot and emits light in the process. However, a significant portion of the energy used by the bulb is converted into heat rather than light, resulting in energy wastage. On the other hand, compact fluorescent bulbs use a different mechanism to produce light. They contain a gas that emits ultraviolet radiation when an electric current is passed through it. This UV radiation then strikes a phosphor coating inside the bulb, causing it to emit visible light. Compared to incandescent bulbs, compact fluorescent bulbs are much more efficient at converting electricity into light and generate less heat as a byproduct. Therefore, compact fluorescent bulbs can produce the same amount of light as incandescent bulbs while using less energy.