I have been wondering why gases (especially noble gases) light up when exposed to a tesla coil or a charge.
In: Chemistry
Everything lights up when heated. Incandescent light bulbs make light by passing electricity through a little metal bottleneck, which heats up the metal until it glows brightly. Fluorescent lights work the same way, except electricity goes through the gas itself, heating it up to a plasma and glowing. The electricity is just a way of giving energy to the gas, which then lets that energy out as light.
Some types of light, like LEDs, are more precise with how the energy is given and how that makes electrons emit light, but most of the time the answer to your question is “by getting hot”.
Latest Answers