Full Version: Sulphur Plasma Light
has anyone else heard about sulphur plasma lights becoming available soon ? lg are going to or are allready making them but not sure if they are available yet? have a look on youtube use sulphur plasma as the search word , also an article in urban garden mag .com , if I read it right they are as good as or better then the sun in terms of usable light and compared to hps or mh a 1000wat sp gives of the same heat as a 400 wat hps/mh .
QUOTE(stuff and nonsense @ May 6 2007, 11:51 AM) [snapback]943019[/snapback]
has anyone else heard about sulphur plasma lights becoming available soon ? lg are going to or are allready making them but not sure if they are available yet? have a look on youtube use sulphur plasma as the search word , also an article in urban garden mag .com , if I read it right they are as good as or better then the sun in terms of usable light and compared to hps or mh a 1000wat sp gives of the same heat as a 400 wat hps/mh .
I have also heard something similar about these new lights, but don't have any information myself I'm afraid.
Hopefully someone will shed some light on the matter
It is, unfortunately, a physical impossibility for any 1,000 watt lamp to input less nett heat into a space than any other 400 watt lamp. (so sayeth James Prescott Joule)
It might however be true that it produces twice as much light useful to plant growth per watt and so you need to use half as much power. ... (but highly unlikely).
Even if it's twice as good, you'll stillneed to cool your growroom (you need to ventilate it in any case.)
A 1,000 watt lamp is a bit of a beast in most growrooms too ...
It might however be true that it produces twice as much light useful to plant growth per watt and so you need to use half as much power. ... (but highly unlikely).
Even if it's twice as good, you'll stillneed to cool your growroom (you need to ventilate it in any case.)
A 1,000 watt lamp is a bit of a beast in most growrooms too ...
hi cv, the sp lamp produces a lot less IR light than conventional hps or mh lights by a large percentage so I assume that its the IR light that is the heat producing part of the spectrum ? = less heat output but its the increase in usable or visible light that is the interesting part , the lumens per watt is less than a hps but that total includes the IR light which as mentioned is much less with the sp light . just to add the total draw for a 1000watt sp light is about 1400watts and that has been taken into consideration when callculating the lumens per watt .
From lamptech:
From Pulseplanet:
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It seems that these are being developed to be produced commercially. If you search for nlites or uk web page then they are under the plasma category.
I 1st thought that they were just enhanced spectrum cfls's but it looks as if they are spinning (sulphure)plasma globes. The plasma being energised by magnetrons. with added impurities such as calcium bromide to tweak the spectrum to the application:
QUOTE
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The Sulphur lamp was invented by Michael Ury over the period 1986-1990, the principal reason for his interest being that the spectral distribution of its energy is very closely matched to the sensitivity of the human eye. Owing to the completely molecular radiation produced by sulphur, the spectrum is continuous and good colour rendering indices can be attained. Once the high efficacy of the discharge had also been demonstrated the patents were licensed to Fusion Corp. of Rockville, MD, U.S.A. who manufactured and marketed it.The extreme electronegativity of sulphur means it is fiercely corrosive towards many materials found in other lamps. Tungsten electrodes are attacked and destroyed very rapidly, thus it is necessary to create an electrodeless lamp. Power is coupled to the discharge using a magnetron operating in the microwave frequency range, but efficiencies of 70% at best were attainable here. Because of the large bulb size convection currents are also a serious issue, and to deliver the temperature uniformity required to attain full vapour pressure of the sulphur (5 atm.) , it is necessary to slowly rotate the bulb horizontally about the axis of the quartz support rod. The argon filling acts purely as a starting aid.
The spectral output peaks at 510nm, imparting a distinctly greenish hue to the illuminated environment and this is something which has proved to be a major obstacle in its marketing. It was also found to be impractical to make the system in lower wattages than with the 1000W lamp shown here. Sulphur lamps were trialled in many applications, most notably using 3M's light pipe system. But the green colour, restriction to high wattages, inefficiency of the magnetron and great noise from its cooling fans saw the lamp axed in 2000.
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The Sulphur lamp was invented by Michael Ury over the period 1986-1990, the principal reason for his interest being that the spectral distribution of its energy is very closely matched to the sensitivity of the human eye. Owing to the completely molecular radiation produced by sulphur, the spectrum is continuous and good colour rendering indices can be attained. Once the high efficacy of the discharge had also been demonstrated the patents were licensed to Fusion Corp. of Rockville, MD, U.S.A. who manufactured and marketed it.The extreme electronegativity of sulphur means it is fiercely corrosive towards many materials found in other lamps. Tungsten electrodes are attacked and destroyed very rapidly, thus it is necessary to create an electrodeless lamp. Power is coupled to the discharge using a magnetron operating in the microwave frequency range, but efficiencies of 70% at best were attainable here. Because of the large bulb size convection currents are also a serious issue, and to deliver the temperature uniformity required to attain full vapour pressure of the sulphur (5 atm.) , it is necessary to slowly rotate the bulb horizontally about the axis of the quartz support rod. The argon filling acts purely as a starting aid.
The spectral output peaks at 510nm, imparting a distinctly greenish hue to the illuminated environment and this is something which has proved to be a major obstacle in its marketing. It was also found to be impractical to make the system in lower wattages than with the 1000W lamp shown here. Sulphur lamps were trialled in many applications, most notably using 3M's light pipe system. But the green colour, restriction to high wattages, inefficiency of the magnetron and great noise from its cooling fans saw the lamp axed in 2000.
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From Pulseplanet:
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SULPHUR LIGHT
A new kind of lamp uses sulphur and microwaves to create an artificial light that's bright, energy efficient - and looks a lot like sunlight. I'm Jim Metzner, and this is the Pulse of the Planet.
ambience: Light Turning on
That's the sound of a sulphur lamp being turned on. Michael Ury is the vice president of research and development at Fusion Lighting in Rockville, Maryland.
"The lamp looks like a small golf ball. It's about 35 mm in diameter, it's made from quartz or fused silica, which is a glasslike material. It's rotating at a fast speed so you don't notice that it's rotating. And it's being flooded with microwave energy, so the sulphur is heated to a gaseous state and the microwave energy is converted to light through the medium of a hot sulphur plasma. Unfortunately the lamp is noisy compared to other light sources. You're listening to a cooling fan, which is blowing air over the source of the microwave energy, and that source is called a magnetron. It's almost identical to the magnetron that's in your home microwave oven."
Now, since the light is strong and the microwave source is noisy, the lamps will probably be used in places where they can be mounted high up.
"It's such a powerful source, you couldn't really use it in an eight-foot high ceiling. It certainly will not be in your kitchen until we can make a lower power version. So for the next few years you'll find this being used in factories, perhaps sports arenas, aircraft hangers, shopping malls where the ceilings are high. It also needs applications where people don't want the heat. Hockey rinks, for example. Plant growth. This one of the few light sources where you can light plants to solar level, without cooking the plants."
A new kind of lamp uses sulphur and microwaves to create an artificial light that's bright, energy efficient - and looks a lot like sunlight. I'm Jim Metzner, and this is the Pulse of the Planet.
ambience: Light Turning on
That's the sound of a sulphur lamp being turned on. Michael Ury is the vice president of research and development at Fusion Lighting in Rockville, Maryland.
"The lamp looks like a small golf ball. It's about 35 mm in diameter, it's made from quartz or fused silica, which is a glasslike material. It's rotating at a fast speed so you don't notice that it's rotating. And it's being flooded with microwave energy, so the sulphur is heated to a gaseous state and the microwave energy is converted to light through the medium of a hot sulphur plasma. Unfortunately the lamp is noisy compared to other light sources. You're listening to a cooling fan, which is blowing air over the source of the microwave energy, and that source is called a magnetron. It's almost identical to the magnetron that's in your home microwave oven."
Now, since the light is strong and the microwave source is noisy, the lamps will probably be used in places where they can be mounted high up.
"It's such a powerful source, you couldn't really use it in an eight-foot high ceiling. It certainly will not be in your kitchen until we can make a lower power version. So for the next few years you'll find this being used in factories, perhaps sports arenas, aircraft hangers, shopping malls where the ceilings are high. It also needs applications where people don't want the heat. Hockey rinks, for example. Plant growth. This one of the few light sources where you can light plants to solar level, without cooking the plants."
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QUOTE
sphere 36mm dia.
32mm internal diameter
White S
System Frequency: 250 kHz
Lamp Power 1000 Watt
System Power: 1 375 Watts
Cap: Quartz rod 4mm dia.
Bulb Finish: Clear
Bulb Speed to Generate Light > 300 rpm
Bulb Type & Size:
quartz
Overall Length:
150 mm
Atmosphere: Sulphur/ CaBr2 & Argon
Luminous Flux: > 140 000 lm @ 100 hours
Luminous Efficacy:
> 100 lm/W system efficiency
Colour Temperature White 6000K / Red (CaBr2) 3500K
Burning Position:
Universal with bulb rotation about axis of quartz rod
Red S/CaBr2
Rated Life:
60 000 Hours (lamp)
10 ,000 Hours (magnetron)
20 000 Hours (power supply)
Warm Up Time/ 1 to 2 mins.
Re-strike Time 7 mins.
Lamp Output Depreciation : <1% during 1 x 20 hrs <10% during Rated life
32mm internal diameter
White S
System Frequency: 250 kHz
Lamp Power 1000 Watt
System Power: 1 375 Watts
Cap: Quartz rod 4mm dia.
Bulb Finish: Clear
Bulb Speed to Generate Light > 300 rpm
Bulb Type & Size:
quartz
Overall Length:
150 mm
Atmosphere: Sulphur/ CaBr2 & Argon
Luminous Flux: > 140 000 lm @ 100 hours
Luminous Efficacy:
> 100 lm/W system efficiency
Colour Temperature White 6000K / Red (CaBr2) 3500K
Burning Position:
Universal with bulb rotation about axis of quartz rod
Red S/CaBr2
Rated Life:
60 000 Hours (lamp)
10 ,000 Hours (magnetron)
20 000 Hours (power supply)
Warm Up Time/ 1 to 2 mins.
Re-strike Time 7 mins.
Lamp Output Depreciation : <1% during 1 x 20 hrs <10% during Rated life
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"Many reliability issues still need resolving, we have British, German, Suisse, Chinese, Korean and American support for doing this in the near future.
All our 1000w Sulphur Plasma Systems are sold as prototype research lighting with no warranty."
" Horticultural - CaBr2 increases quantum efficiency for photosynthesis close to 100%."
All our 1000w Sulphur Plasma Systems are sold as prototype research lighting with no warranty."
" Horticultural - CaBr2 increases quantum efficiency for photosynthesis close to 100%."
It seems that these are being developed to be produced commercially. If you search for nlites or uk web page then they are under the plasma category.
I 1st thought that they were just enhanced spectrum cfls's but it looks as if they are spinning (sulphure)plasma globes. The plasma being energised by magnetrons. with added impurities such as calcium bromide to tweak the spectrum to the application:
QUOTE
"White S and Red S/CaBr2 versions now available. Calcium bromide is added to the sulphur filling in a sulphur lamp to increase the emission of red light for enhanced growth of plants. Red light is more efficacious for plant growth than is visible light at shorter wavelengths. The addition of CaBr2 increases the emission at wavelengths in the vicinity of 625 nm, where the quantum efficiency for photosynthesis is close to 1.
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thanks suptra looks like its gona to be a while before they are available without problems and at the right price.
QUOTE(compostverte @ May 6 2007, 11:34 AM) [snapback]943042[/snapback]
It is, unfortunately, a physical impossibility for any 1,000 watt lamp to input less nett heat into a space than any other 400 watt lamp.
Saying that heat output is directly proportional to lamp wattage is equivalent to saying that the net energy is not conserved if one lamp outputs more light than the other. A more efficient light will generate more photons and less heat by energy conservation laws.
A 40 watt fluorescent bulb does not give out as much heat as a 40 watt incandescent because more of the energy is being converted into light.
If you somehow had a light with 100% efficiency, it would generate no heat at all. A 400W lamp would generate zero heat and 400W of photons
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