How Does a Xenon Bulb Work?
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Halogen Lights
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To understand xenon lights, we'll have to first take a look at halogen lights. Halogen lights are still the most popular lights on cars today. The way they work is by heat charging up a tungsten filament at the center of the bulb. The filament gets so hot that it turns white, which produces the light. The problem is, in order to heat the filament to get light, it needs to be heated to about 4,500 degrees Fahrenheit, which produces far more heat than light, making them rather inefficient. Up until recently, there was no other option for cars, until we learned how to use xenon.
Xenon
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While most of the cars today are still using halogen lights, xenon lights are making their way into the mainstream, and could be the standard someday. Xenon is a natural element found in the earth's atmosphere, as well as in various minerals, and even some compounds. When heated by electricity, it turns a rich blue color, hence the color of the headlights you see on luxury cars.
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How It Works
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So instead of using electricity to heat a filament, like we see in the halogen lights, xenon lights use a technology called High Intensity Discharge, or HID. This technology is also used on street lamps and stadium lighting. In these examples, low pressure vapor is used to produce an ultraviolet light that arouses a phosphor coating in the tube. However, when high pressure gas is involved, there's no need for a phosphor coating. So in the case of xenon lights, electricity can simply heat the xenon, which results in a more efficient, but more costly alternative.
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