Geology: Resources of the Earth - Essay Example

Here, we will first discuss how a traditional lamp causes energy wastage, so that we it is easier for us to comprehend as to how beneficial the energy –saving lamps are. How does the traditional lamp function? Traditional lamps, also known as incandescent lamps, give out light when hot. A traditional bulb is generally designed as a glass globe that has a very thin wire filament of tungsten metal, inside it (Fig 1). When electricity flows through this filament, it turns exceedingly hot, and starts giving off light.

This is very similar to what we see when a fire burns and emits light; or if we put an iron rod into the fire and heat it to around 9500 Celsius, it starts glowing red, a condition that is commonly known as ‘red hot’. A rise in temperature to around 1100° C will make the rod glow yellow, while at a temperature of around 25000 Celsius the rod will glow ‘white hot,’ by emitting a bright white light. Thus, a filament within a bulb appears to have white glow, as it burns ‘white hot,’ owing to the high temperature within the bulb.

Fig 1: An incandescent lamp showing its various parts. (Source: Merriam-Webster, Visual Dictionary Online- “incandescent lamp”, 2011). . A thinner conductor heats up more easily than a thicker conductor because it is more resistant to the movement of electrons..Bound electrons in the vibrating atoms may be boosted temporarily to a higher energy level. When they fall back to their normal levels, the electrons release the extra energy in the form of photons. Metal atoms release mostly infrared light photons, which are invisible to the human eye.

But if they are heated to a high enough level -- around 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit (2,200 degrees C) in the case of a light bulb -- they will emit a good deal of visible light.” (Source: how stuff works, how light bulbs work, 2011). Thus, a tungsten filament in an incandescent lamp give off light, but in this process it also give off heat ( if we touch an incandescent lamp that has been glowing for some time, we will burn our fingers, owing to the heat it liberates). With our primary aim of obtaining light, the heat energy is completely wasted.

In fact, incandescent bulbs waste almost around 90 % of the electricity used, simply in order to get hot, so that it can emit light. Thus, what we observe is a phenomenal loss of energy, both electrical and heat, in order to produce light. It is for this reason people worldwide are switching over to energy-saving lamps, also known as compact fluorescent lamps or CFLs, which lasts longer while saving almost 80% of the energy that is being used. Energy saving lamps: Electricity conservation, in the modern context, has become one of the top priorities, owing to the fact that “its generation needs a lot of energy, mostly heat produced in coal, gas or nuclear plants.

[and almost around] 10 percent [of electric energy] is lost in electricity lines and transformers, before the electricity