Electrodeless discharge lighting

Summary form only given. Research in electric light sources has played an important role in the understanding and development of plasma physics from the time Irving Langmuir introduced the word “plasma” to describe an ionized gas in 1928. In the first half of last century, fundamental research into gas discharges was supported by a number of lighting companies, resulting in important contributions to the understanding of plasma science. As we move forward in the 21st C, newer technologies, such as Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) offer exciting challenges to the way we think about lighting, and the advances in this technology over the past decade has been remarkable. Whilst acknowledging the successes achieved in LED development, there have been parallel advances in “traditional” gas discharge lamp technology, as well as new products with attributes that provide an attractive alternative to LEDs for particular applications.