Neon Lights & Other Discharge Lamps

Even though today we look at LED lights as the most energy-efficient artificial light sources, it’s important to understand how we got there. While most will rightfully remember Edison’s invention of the lightbulb in 1879 as a turning point in history, one could consider it as merely the beginning of more than a century of innovation in this field.

For example, history is vague when it comes to the invention of the electric discharge lamp, even though devices that fall under this category have been a part of our culture and aesthetics for most of the 20th century. Well, if we don’t know exactly who created the thing, the least we can do is understand how it works, right? This is where Neon Lights & Other Discharge Lamps can help.

Neon Lights & Other Discharge Lamps is an educational application that’s animated in Java. Though it doesn’t look amazing, its main purpose is to simulate the atomic reactions that take place inside a discharge lamp.

Such a device works by sending an electrical discharge through the ionized gas inside the lamp, thus making the gas light up. In this simulation’s interface, you can actually see how electrons collide with the gas atoms, thus producing photons of different colors.

You can adjust various parameters, such as voltage and electron production. You can also change the type of gas that the lamp is filled with, being able to choose between hydrogen, mercury, sodium or neon. You can also activate a spectrometer tool to determine what color of light your lamp is producing.

Neon Lights & Other Discharge Lamps is first and foremost and educational tool which is best used in science classes, along with proper explanations provided by a teacher. Nevertheless, it’s a good way to help students understand how neon lights are made.