A circuit in a home provides power to a light fixture. The homeowners want to use a compact fluorescent bulb instead of an incandescent bulb.
Compact fluorescent bulbs can produce as much light as incandescent bulbs but with less energy. How is this possible? (1 point)
• Energy is destroyed when it passes through an incandescent bulb.
• Fluorescent bulbs have been designed to put out more energy than they receive.
• Fluorescent bulbs produce other forms of energy, too, including heat.
• Incandescent bulbs produce other forms of energy, too, including heat.
The correct answer is: Fluorescent bulbs have been designed to put out more energy than they receive.
This is possible because fluorescent bulbs are more energy-efficient than incandescent bulbs. They produce light by using electricity to excite mercury vapor, which then emits ultraviolet light. This UV light is then absorbed by a phosphor coating inside the bulb, which converts it into visible light. This process is much more efficient at producing light compared to the simple heating of a filament in an incandescent bulb.