Fluorescent apparatus and method employing low-frequency excitation into

Abstract

A fluorescent illuminating apparatus includes a translucent housing with a chamber within which a fluorescent medium is supported. The fluorescent medium and housing may be part of an ordinary fluorescent lightbulb. The housing has electrical connections configured to provide an electrical potential across the chamber. An inductive structure is fixed sufficiently proximate to the housing to induce fluorescence in the fluorescent medium when an electric current is passed through the inductive structure while an electric potential is applied across the electrical connections of the housing. It is believed that the inductive structure induces fluorescence by means of an electromagnetic field interaction with either the fluorescent medium, or the ultraviolet-emitting gaseous material, such as mercury, typically contained in a fluorescent lightbulb, or both. Preferred inductive structures for use with the present invention include elongate tape structures having a substrate with a conductive-resistive coating such as a solid emulsion of an electrically conductive material (e.g., graphite) dispersed in a non-conductive continuous phase. A coating portion of magnetic recording tape can also be used. Elongate conductor strips are provided, along edges of the substrate, in electrical contact with the conductive-resistive coating. A method of inducing fluorescence comprises passing a current through an inductive structure which is adjacent a fluorescing medium in an amount sufficient to induce fluorescence in the fluorescing medium in the presence of an electrical potential imposed on the fluorescing medium. The present invention replaces conventional ballasts.