| The Sulfur Lamp, a microwave-powered electrodeless lighting
system, benefited from two high profile demonstrations that
helped the technology gain exposure and credibility. Michael
Ury (at right in this photo) and his associates at Fusion Systems
invented this radically new lamp in 1990, but faced a market
reluctant to chance the technology. Given the system's potential
for saving energy, Lee Anderson (at left) decided to lend Ury
his support.
As lighting program manager in the U.S. Department of Energy's
Office of Building Technology, State and Community Programs,
Anderson was responsible for evaluating new lighting technologies.
He arranged for two sulfur lamps to be installed outside DOE's
headquarters building, and three more to be installed inside
the National Air & Space Museum's Space Gallery. In the
photo, Anderson (who died in 1998) and Ury are showing off
those five lamps prior to installation in October 1994.
In the quote above, Ury referred to the timing during the
ceremonial activation of the demonstration lamps. While he
was confident his lamps would work, if a missed stage-cue
left the band playing in the dark, it would have been rather
embarrassing.
The lamps started on cue however, and the demonstration succeeded
in introducing the technology to a large audience, as well
as building valuable field experience with the lamps. The
three NASM demonstrators remained in service until September
1996, the two DOE units a year longer. All five were replaced
with production models.
Demonstration unit #1 consisting of the projector, power
supply, and air compressor was transferred from NASM to the
Electricity & Modern Physics Collections of the National
Museum of American History after removal. The other four demonstrators
were returned to their original configuration (as industrial
ultraviolet curing systems).
Twenty years later
Modern materials and components have allowed some manufacturers
to develop these designs further. Improvements range from
the imaginative use of Pilkington K Glass™ & dielectric
materials in the UK to genuine invention from Switzerland
that allows suppressing the rotation of the bulb and any other
motion. This highly efficient plasma lighting technology remains
fundamentally the same as it was in the 1990’s, but
costs are sure to come down as production numbers and reliability
increase. |
