What is an arc lamp bulb (and how does it differ from incandescent)?

[Antoneo]

Anyone know? Do incandescent and arc lamp bulbs possess different disadvantages?

 

[dighn]

arc lamp bulbs are very bright and very hot afaik

incandescent very inefficient

 

[Antoneo]

Originally posted by: dighn
arc lamp bulbs are very bright and very hot afaik

incandescent very inefficient

Do arc lamps use a filament as well? Uhm, are they more efficient than incandescent bulbs?

 

[dighn]

Originally posted by: Antoneo

Originally posted by: dighn
arc lamp bulbs are very bright and very hot afaik

incandescent very inefficient

Do arc lamps use a filament as well? Uhm, are they more efficient than incandescent bulbs?

no filament. it's gas discharge so it might require a high voltage so a different power source. i'm think about mercury arc lamps btw (eg street lamps)


not sure but i think they are more efficient than incadescent. you really can't get much more inefficient than incadescent

 

[Howard]

Arc lamps are electroluminescent?

 

[RossGr]

When I think of an arc lamp I think mainly of a carbon arc. these are the very intense spot ligths, used in the old days on stage also used in the huge spot lights you still see ocasionly lighting the night sky. These bad boys use a very high voltage arc to essentially burn a carbon element. Very high temperatures etc, I can/t imagain they are super efficient, I don't know that level of detail.

I guess all florecent or gas discharge lights are a form of arc lamps as they use an arc to get things going.

 

[mattgyver]

Originally posted by: RossGr
When I think of an arc lamp I think mainly of a carbon arc. these are the very intense spot ligths, used in the old days on stage also used in the huge spot lights you still see ocasionly lighting the night sky. These bad boys use a very high voltage arc to essentially burn a carbon element. Very high temperatures etc, I can/t imagain they are super efficient, I don't know that level of detail.

I guess all florecent or gas discharge lights are a form of arc lamps as they use an arc to get things going.

I talked to an old guy that was operating a big searchlight at a late-night car sale. He said the light he used was built in 1942 by GE and had (IIRC) 800 million candle power. He even gave me one of the used carbon rods, which he said worked on the same principle as arc welding.