What is the use of choke in florescent

tubes?
electromagnetic induction

Best Answer - Chosen by Voters

(1)
it is required to limit the current in the tube while in operation
the design also provides necessary resistance for the filament to glow for starting the
lamp

(2)

Provides the starting pulse voltage to get the spark to leap in the tube.
"The ballast used in this circuit is essentially a choke and capacitor in series. The
capacitor corrects the phase lag caused by the choke and improves the efficiency. The
inductance of the choke causes a voltage spike when the starter switches off. This is due
to the sudden change in current flow and can help achieve the initial spark required to
start the fluorescent tube. The choke controls the current once the tube has been started,
as it has a high impedance at the operating frequency of the tube (about 20kHz). It has a
low impedance during start-up when the mains current flows through the cathodes and
starter at 50Hz."

(3)
can't explain in exact electrical terms, but the fluorescent tube is essentially a discharge of
ions between anode and a cathode and hence this basically requires strong electrical
power between them. Choke essentially is an inductor responsible for providing the
required lag in the voltage (this lag increases the voltage between the plates) and hence
the ions start emitting or light glows. That's why sometimes for older tube lights you see
that the harmonics interference in choke is too much and hence this create a humming
noise and often gets hot when we use the light for longer duration. Note all this happens
in 40W range where the power usage is low when compared to olden days 60W / 100 W
electrical bulbs (I remember during my childhood even 200W electrical Bajaj bulb, I
guess it’s not available now). However there is another term called “reactive power”
which is in fact very high in tube lights
(4)
Asked and answered before at http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?… some of
which is:

The choke has two main functions. It (in conjunction with the starter if it has one) causes
the tube to ignite by using the back emf to create a plasma in the tube and it controls the
current through the tube when it is ignited.
In a gas discharge, such as a fluorescent lamp, current causes resistance to decrease. This
is because as more electrons and ions flow through a particular area, they bump into more
atoms, which frees up electrons, creating more charged particles. In this way, current will
climb on its own in a gas discharge, as long as there is adequate voltage (and household
AC current has a lot of voltage). If the current in a fluorescent light isn't controlled, it can
blow out the various electrical components.

What is the function of the choke in a

tubelight?
Best Answer - Chosen by Asker
The choke has two main functions. It (in conjunction with the starter if it has one) causes
the tube to ignite by using the back emf to create a plasma in the tube and it controls the
current through the tube when it is ignited.

In a gas discharge, such as a fluorescent lamp, current causes resistance to decrease. This
is because as more electrons and ions flow through a particular area, they bump into more
atoms, which frees up electrons, creating more charged particles. In this way, current will
climb on its own in a gas discharge, as long as there is adequate voltage (and household
AC current has a lot of voltage). If the current in a fluorescent light isn't controlled, it can
blow out the various electrical components.

A fluorescent lamp's ballast works to control this. The simplest sort of ballast, generally
referred to as a magnetic ballast, works something like an inductor. A basic inductor
consists of a coil of wire in a circuit, which may be wound around a piece of metal. If
you've read How Electromagnets Work, you know that when you send electrical current
through a wire, it generates a magnetic field. Positioning the wire in concentric loops
amplifies this field.

This sort of field affects not only objects around the loop, but also the loop itself.
Increasing the current in the loop increases the magnetic field, which applies a voltage
opposite the flow of current in the wire. In short, a coiled length of wire in a circuit (an
inductor) opposes change in the current flowing through it. The transformer elements in a
magnetic ballast use this principle to regulate the current in a fluorescent lamp.

A ballast can only slow down changes in current -- it can't stop them. But the alternating
current powering a fluorescent light is constantly reversing itself, so the ballast only has
to inhibit increasing current in a particular direction for a short amount of time.

Magnetic ballasts modulate electrical current at a relatively low cycle rate, which can
cause a noticeable flicker. Magnetic ballasts may also vibrate at a low frequency. This is
the source of the audible humming sound people associate with fluorescent lamps.
Modern ballast designs use advanced electronics to more precisely regulate the current
flowing through the electrical circuit. Since they use a higher cycle rate, you don't
generally notice a flicker or humming noise coming from an electronic ballast. Different
lamps require specialized ballasts designed to maintain the specific voltage and current
levels needed for varying tube designs.

Fluorescent lamps come in all shapes and sizes, but they all work on the same basic
principle: An electric current stimulates mercury atoms, which causes them to release
ultraviolet photons. These photons in turn stimulate a phosphor, which emits visible light
photons. At the most basic level, that's all there is to it!

(2)
 The tubelight do not effect on heating effect of electricity. There are two elements on
both sides of the tube and a gas is filled in the tube. On high voltage the gas between the
two elements in side the tube gets ionised and conduction starts.This results into
production of light.
The choke do the work of producing high voltage between the two elements.It is
basically a figh inductive reactance and on appearing of AC voltage, it produces a high
voltage which is ultimately gets applied on the tube elements.

• (2)

The choke works in conjunction with a starter switch. When you turn the light ON,
voltage is applied to the choke, and when the switch opens after a few seconds, it creates
a high voltage across the contacts at each end of the tube. This starts the ionization of the
gas in tube, which glows. Once ionized, it continues producing light even when the
voltage applied is only 120 VAC, the power line voltage.
(3)

The choke in the circuit performs 2 functions, it provides, in conjunction with the glow
starter, the high voltage pulse necessary to strike the lamp, and when the lamp is running,
it limits the running current to a safe value to prevent the heaters blowing out of the lamp.
Way back in 1960 you could buy in the UK a 40w fluorescent light for kitchen use that
did not have a choke, instead the ballast was a special tungsten filament lamp connected
as a choke in series with the lamp. The lamp started in the same way as one with a choke
but the only starting voltage was 240v RMS form the supply. This leads me to think that
the choke in a 40W circuit need only supply around 240v to ionise the argon initiation
gas in the lamp.
How much Voltage does the choke of the
40 V tube light generates when we
switch on it ?
How much Voltage does the choke of the 40 V tube light generates when we switch on
it ?

After getting switch on tube light how much voltage choke keeps on generating ?

• 6 months ago

Best Answer - Chosen by Voters

Your question itself wrong that is not 40V tube , it may be 40 Watts tube ,it will trigger
>500v (not a measurable time fraction of second) & it will drop nearly 110 -120 volts
across the choke, reaming to the tube.I measured when I was a trainee.

What is the difference between

transformer, choke and ballast?
Best Answer - Chosen by Voters
A transformer is a device that transfers electrical energy from one circuit to another
through inductively coupled wires. A changing current in the first circuit (the primary)
creates a changing magnetic field; in turn, this magnetic field induces a changing voltage
in the second circuit (the secondary). By adding a load to the secondary circuit, one can
make current flow in the transformer, thus transferring energy from one circuit to the
other.

A choke is an inductor designed to have a high reactance to a particular frequency when

used in a signal-carrying circuit.

An electrical ballast (sometimes called control gear) is a device intended to limit the
amount of current flowing in an electric circuit.

Ballasts vary greatly in complexity. They can be as simple as a series resistor as

commonly used with small neon lamps. For higher-power installations, too much energy
would be wasted in a resistive ballast, so alternatives are used that depend upon the
reactance of inductors, capacitors, or both. Finally, ballasts can be as complex as the
computerized, remote-controlled electronic ballasts used with fluorescent lamps.
Transformer, choke and ballast are generally wound components.
1.A power transformer delivers an output power equal to the input power at a stepped up
or stepped down voltage assuming that the efficiency is 100%.
2.There are various types of transformers like intermediate frequency transformer,
impedance matching transformer etc
3.A choke is a wound coil generally used for smoothing or filtering the outputs from
rectifying circuits. Impedance of choke increases with increase in frequency. Choke or
coil is also used for RF filtering.
4. Ballast is another wound coil similar to choke but used for an entirely different
function. Fluorescent lamps, mercury vapour lamps, sodium vapour lamps, iodine lamps,
neon sign lamps for publicity etc need a high voltage for starting and once started, the
running voltage assumes a value much lower than the mains voltage. The Ballast
provides the high voltage for starting. The difference between the mains voltage and the
sustaining volage on the lamps drops on the ballast as required by Kirchoff.

TRANSFORMER:
IT IS USUALLY USED TO INCREASE OR DECREASE VARYING INPUT SIGNAL.

CHOKE :
IT IS AN INDUCTIVE COIL WHICH REDUCES A CHANGE OF A VARYING
INPUT SIGNAL AND LIMIT IT.

BALLAST:
AS THE NAME SUGGEST , IT IS ALSO A INDUCTOR BUT IT STORE ENERGY IN
ITS MAGNETIC FIELD AN THE QUICKLY RELEASE IT.(LIKE BALLAST).IT
ALSO A LIMITER.

What is the function of a starter in a

fluorescent lamp?
In: Home Electricity, Home Appliances, Wiring and Electricity [Edit categories]

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The gas in the fluorescent tube has a high resistance when not lit, so it takes a high
voltage to start it glowing. The "starter" stores energy and releases it all at once, causing a
high voltage. Once the tube is glowing its resistance is lower, so it can continue to run
without the starter.

In fact the mains voltage is much higher than the tube requires to run once the gas inside
it has been "lit" by the starter. A special thing called a "ballast" is included in the lamp
fitting to reduce the mains voltage to one that is sufficient for the lamp to run
continuously without overheating. If there was no ballast in the circuit supplying the
lamp, the tube could get hot enough to explode!
What is the function of the choke in a
fluorescent lamp?
In: 1066 and the Battle of Hastings, Electrical Engineering [Edit categories]

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The inductance primarily serves to limit current flow to the correct level for the tube. It
also can be used during startup to provide an inductive 'kick' forming a higher-voltage
pulse to start the lamp.

Can a fluorescent lamp work without a

starter?
In: Home Electricity [Edit categories]

[Improve]

Answer

Yes and no. It can run without a starter, but it can't start. The starter stores energy and
releases it all at once, causing a higher voltage. The gas in the tube has a higher resistance
when not lit, so it takes more voltage to start it glowing. Once it is glowing, the resistance
is lower, so it can run without a starter.

Working principle:-

In a fluorescent lamp the ultraviolet radiation, efficiently produced by an electric

discharge in a mixture of low pressure mercury vapor and low pressure inert gas such as
argon, krypton or neon, stimulates the phosphor material coated on the inside of the lamp
tube to emit visible light. Therefore phosphors could be called converters for changing
invisible ultraviolet light into visible light.

When a fluorescent lamp is switched on, first a heating current passes through the
cathodes in order to increase the temperature of the cathodes and an arc discharge (a
current flow through a gas) is produced by applying a high voltage between the cathodes.
Once a discharge is produced, the temperature of the cathodes can be maintained by the
collision of electrons without the need for any other cathode heating, and in addition the
mercury vapor pressure increases due to vaporization by the discharge, and the current
increases. Fluorescent lamps are designed to incorporate ballast and therefore provide
continuous discharge in a balanced state at an optimum value.
The fast electrons emitted by the cathode collide with mercury atoms and a transfer of
energy occurs between the two. As a result of this transfer of energy the mercury atom
emits an ultra-violet radiation with a wavelength of 253.7nm. Another energy transfer
occurs when this ultra violet radiation collides with the phosphor and visible light is
radiated as a result.