7 Dec
2000
7 Dec
'00
3:25 p.m.
At 04:20 PM 12/7/00 -0800, you wrote:
Could somebody please explain to me how flourescent
lamps work?
They put out a LOT of UV light.
So much so, that I thought that the name implied that they operated by a
coating that flouresced under UV.
Yes, of course that's how flourescent lamps work. I think
they even still have mercury vapor in them. However, I questioned
whether the dinky little lamp in a scanner would zap a windowed
(and presumably stickered) EEPROM.
- John
7 Dec
7 Dec
3:52 p.m.
On Thu, 7 Dec 2000, John Foust wrote:
Yes, of course that's how flourescent lamps work.
I think
they even still have mercury vapor in them. However, I questioned
whether the dinky little lamp in a scanner would zap a windowed
(and presumably stickered) EEPROM.
Ahhh!
Thank you for the explanation. The issue then is not whether they
produce UV, but whether the amount of UV is enough to be a potential
problem.
4:05 p.m.
Yes, of course that's how flourescent lamps work.
I think
they even still have mercury vapor in them. However, I questioned
whether the dinky little lamp in a scanner would zap a windowed
(and presumably stickered) EEPROM.
The glass of the normal fluorescent lamp acts as a pretty good
shortwave UV filter. Otherwise the things would be dangerous.
Shortwave UV lamps use a quartz envelope rather than glass, and
ceramic windowed EPROM packages use a quartz window. This makes
the lamps and the ceramic windowed packages are more expensive than
they would otherwise be.
8 Dec
8 Dec
9:39 a.m.
John Foust <jfoust(a)threedee.com> wrote:
At 04:20 PM 12/7/00 -0800, you wrote:
Hi
There is another issue as well. Most fluorescent tubes
are made with ordinary glass. The only glass that I
know of that will pass enough high energy UV ( needed to
erase EPROMs ) is quartz glass. Between the phosphors and
the glass, you'd most likely need a vary long exposure
to make any difference ( months to years ). The change
in charge caused by cosmic radiation is most likely
an order of magnitude higher in effect.
Dwight
Could somebody please explain to me how
flourescent lamps work?
They put out a LOT of UV light.
So much so, that I thought that the name implied that they operated by a
coating that flouresced under UV.
Yes, of course that's how flourescent lamps work. I think
they even still have mercury vapor in them. However, I questioned
whether the dinky little lamp in a scanner would zap a windowed
(and presumably stickered) EEPROM.
8623
days inactive
8624
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3 comments
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cisin＠xenosoft.com -
elvey＠hal.com -
eric＠brouhaha.com -
jfoust＠threedee.com