"Insights Of Exploring Technology"

What is a halogen light source?

By, CoolMotor

• 2023-12-29
• 18 View

Halogen lamps, also known as tungsten halogen bulbs and quartz bulbs, are a variant of incandescent lamps. The principle is to inject halogen element gases such as iodine or bromine into the bulb. When the filament heats up, the tungsten atoms are evaporated and react chemically with the halogen. The cooled tungsten will re-solidify on the tungsten filament, forming a balanced cycle. It can avoid premature breakage of tungsten filament and extend its service life. At the same time, because the filament can work at a higher temperature, it can achieve higher brightness, higher color temperature and higher luminous efficiency.

Halogen lamps are an improvement over incandescent lamps. They maintain the advantages of incandescent lamps: simplicity, low cost, easy brightness adjustment and control, and good color rendering (Ra=100). At the same time, halogen lamps overcome many shortcomings of incandescent lamps: such as short service life and low luminous efficiency (generally only 6% to 10% can be converted into light energy, and the rest is lost in the form of heat energy).

However, it should be noted that the operating temperature of halogen bulbs is very high, and the surface temperature of the bulb can reach 600 degrees Celsius. Therefore, you must wait for the bulb to cool down sufficiently before you can open the headlight and remove the bulb. And because the halogen bulb is made of quartz material with a glass shell, this material has a serious flaw, that is, if you touch the bulb with your hands or a rag and then light it up, the bulb will lose its luster and cannot be restored. Halogen bulbs that are soiled must be cleaned before igniting. Use absorbent cotton balls soaked in alcohol to scrub vigorously. Do not dry the bulb after cleaning. Allow it to dry before installing it in the headlight. If time is tight, you can light the bulb outside the headlight for a while before installing it to prevent alcohol vapor from condensing inside the headlight.