Question #1

I took two years of physics in high school, but I never completely 
understood how light worked.  Is it a wave or a particle?  I 
finally have a basic understanding of light after studying it 
in physics 101, but what exactly are black lights and fluorescent 
lights?  Is a black light just black, as the name would imply, 
or is it something different?  What makes a fluorescent 
light fluorescent?  Learning about the physics of black lights 
and fluorescent lights really helped me to better understand the 
effects they have on the lights we use on a daily basis.  This 
newfound knowledge also changed the existing viewpoints that 
I already had about black lights and fluorescent lights.

I have learned a lot about black lights and their effects on 
modern society.  In “the physics of black lights,” Courtney explains 
how both the fluorescent light and the black light work.  However, 
it is important to note some differences between the two.  A normal 
fluorescent light uses fluorescent phosphors to convert the 
ultraviolet light (which is produced by its mercury discharge) into 
visible light.  A black light allows ultraviolet light to emerge from 
the lamp and remain unchanged.  Because the UV light from a mercury 
discharge has a short wave length, a black light uses gases other 
than the mercury that a normal flourescent light would use.

Until I did the research for this project, I thought that black 
lights were full of radiation and could cause mutations.  
However, after some research I discovered that black lights have 
the longest wave in the UV region, making them the safest form 
of energy in that region.  Black lights also have many practical uses, 
such as preventing forgeries, fighting diseases and health problems, 
and assisting police in finding clues.  Black lights are also more 
conductive and their photons carry more energy than any visible 
light.  Fluorescent lights also have many uses.  The main use of 
the fluorescent light is the actual act of emitting light.  Almost 
all schools, hospitals, and dorm rooms use fluorescent lighting.  
Flourescent lights are much more useful than incandescent 
lights because the former last longer, are more energy efficient, 
and less wasteful.  

I learned many new things from this project, most notably not 
to let opinions and ideas form without understanding why I hold 
those ideas.  Instead of actually seeking out the science behind 
fluorescent and black lights I thought that I had learned 
enough by watching the sci-fi channel.  Obviously, many of my 
preconceptions and notions regarding black and fluorescent 
lights were not only misguided, but downright wrong.  Instead of 
learning from television, I now plan to learn about things that 
I do not understand. 


Introduction|Physics of Blacklights|*Question 1*|Question 2|Links|Conclusion|Works Cited|People