The Fluorescent Phenomenon

One evening while changing a fluorescent bulb in my apartment, I discovered another interesting effect of static electricity.

The air in my apartment was dry, and the electrical charges were building up frequently, causing long (1" to 0.5") sparks to jump from my fingers to anything grounded. As I carried a new 16" fluorescent tube across the carpeted floor to fix the closet light, the tube flickered in my hands. Furthermore, when I touched the contacts on the end of the tube to something grounded, the tube illuminated brightly for a split second.

You can try this at home with any fluorescent bulb. fluorescent bulbs are fragile and can break easily, so be careful.

About the Author: Dan Robinson has been a storm chaser, photographer and cameraman for 30 years. His career has involved traveling around the country covering the most extreme weather on the planet including tornadoes, hurricanes, lightning, floods and winter storms. Dan has been extensively published in newspapers, magazines, web articles and more, and has both supplied footage for and appeared in numerous television productions and newscasts. He has also been involved in the research community, providing material for published scientific journal papers on tornadoes and lightning. Dan also holds an active Remote Pilot Certificate from the FAA (Part 107) for commercial drone operation.

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