Plenty of information here on fluorescent bulbs.

http://donklipstein.com/f-spec.html

Here also.

http://www.epanorama.net/sff/Lights/Flourescent%20Lamp%20Information%202.pdf


I did not know this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diItf327LKU

http://ateam.lbl.gov/Design-Guide/DGHtm/rapid.startballasts.htm

http://ateam.lbl.gov/Design-Guide/DGHtm/instant.startballasts.htm

A little bit of information about lighting back in the old days, but still helpful today


http://books.google.com/books?id=TV8rAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA68&lpg=PA68&dq=ballast+f96pg&source=bl&ots=_KPO3BTxPm&sig=A1851_YknVj0Hx-LqTy3JTJGh2E&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Mj6mU-fGN9exyAT12YCgBQ&ved=0CEwQ6AEwCA#v=onepage&q=ballast%20f96pg&f=false


A little fluorescent history.
Of course the fluorescent light had been known for a long time prior to the commercialization of the fluorescent bulbs and ballasts in the late 1930s by GE.
But it was thought of as interesting, but impractical as real lighting for use by the public.
Its weak light output was considered a downfall that could not be over come.

However thanks to a dedicated group of engineers and scientists, the fluorescent light became a commercial success far beyond the early hopes of the original group.
Here is some information from a person that was there in the early days of the development of the first practical fluorescent light.

 http://home.frognet.net/~ejcov/thayer.html

What a phosphor chemist can concoct given an easy ultraviolet source!
What will he use when Hg in lamps is totally banned in a few years?

quote author=lights*plus link=topic=3544.msg22766#msg22766 date=1402633273]
What will he use when Hg in lamps is totally banned in a few years?
[/quote]

The same as today: Analytical lamps...

The famous "bans" (officially a regulation) afefct just the consumer general lighting and not special equipment.
Of course, obtaining a special lamp by hacking a general lighting lamp (as it is the case with using naked MV burners taken from a cheap MV's used as an UV source for hobby litography processes) won't be possible anymore, you would have to buy the (agree, more expensive) special UV lamp for that. Or switch to an UV-free process (e.g. laser print on an "inkjet photo paper" with thermal transfer onto the PCB)

And even in general lighting I don't think the mercury would be banned soon, but it's use will decline as the market will shift to LED - just for the cost reasons.