Incandescent Light Bulbs
With good reason, we'll have a look at the incandescent bulb first. It is still the most commonly found bulb in households and it comes in tons of shapes, sizes, and intensities. Their primary components are the base, filling gas, support wires, and a tungsten filament. You can imagine, the support wires hold the filament, which glows white-hot when electricity runs through it. It is the filament you hear clattering around when you shake a broken light bulb. The light is considered very accommodating, and the versatility is impressive, as the glass can be tinted any color to create a wide range of effects. Still, the incandescent bulb is not as energy-efficient as newer lighting options.
Fluorescent Light Bulbs
Fluorescent lights are cheaper to operate and require much less electricity per foot candle than an incandescent bulb, making it the clear choice for business across the world. They operate via an electronic ballast that, when turned on, runs a current through the bulb. The fluorescent bulb itself is full of a white powder called "phosphor," which radiates light when the gas inside conducts electricity. It's pretty complicated, but the important part about these bulbs is that they are inexpensive and last much longer. Many people associate them with work, so they carry an unfortunate connotation.
Halogen Light Bulbs
A halogen light bulb, like an incandescent light bulb, has a tungsten filament inside a tube. Unlike the incandescent bulb, the filament is encased in a quartz envelope. This envelope is wrapped so close around the filament that, were it glass, it would melt. Also, unlike an incandescent bulb, the gas in a halogen reacts with the tungsten filament by replacing its atoms as they evaporate. This process is what makes halogen bulbs last so much longer and burn brighter per unit of energy. They are extremely hot, and therefore can be dangerous, but by and large, they are superior bulbs.
Xenon Light Bulbs
Xenon light bulbs are slowly gaining in popularity. With a perfect score on the Color Rendering Index (CRI), their light is warm and displays color exactly as the sun does. People are most familiar with these products in photographic flashes and strobe lights, but they can be seen in commercial applications, often as puck lights and task lights. Xenon lamps work much like a halogen lamp, but they last even longer (often up to 20,000 hours) and burn much cooler. However, xenon is rare and rather difficult to extract from the atmosphere, so these bulbs run a bit higher in price.
