how does the fluorescent light bulb work

Those tubes can contain up to 100 mg of mercury each. (These are conservative estimates based on comparison to a bulb with 5 mg of mercury.) CFLs also use the same technology as the linear fluorescent tubes we have been using in our schools, offices and hospitals for over 50 years.

To put that amount in perspective, there is up to five times that amount of mercury in the watch battery on your wrist quite notably, between 60 to 200 times that amount of mercury in a single “silver” dental filling in people’s mouths, depending on the size of the filling 100 to 200 times that amount in the old-style thermometers many people still have in their medicine cabinets 200 times that amount per switch in the light switches of certain freezers and about 500 times that amount in thermostats on the walls of people’s homes. The amount of mercury contained in a CFL is very small - a typical bulb today contains about 3mg. We’ve taken a close look at this issue, and we believe that CFLs are the right choice for those concerned about both their health and their energy bills.

However, CFLs themselves contain a small amount of mercury, which has led to some questions about whether they are safe to use. In fact, we’ve calculated that using a CFL results in less than half of the mercury emissions of using a 100 W incandescent light bulb. Burning coal is a far larger source of mercury in our environment and a far bigger risk to our health. By conserving electricity, CFLs also avoid some of the mercury emissions from power plants that burn coal. Compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) use about a quarter of the electricity of traditional incandescent light bulbs, reducing energy costs for consumers.

How does the fluorescent light bulb work