In article , Gerry Atrick wrote:
I got one of those orange colored neon night lights in my bathroom.
When the bathroom light is off, this neon light flickers all the time
(which usually means the neon bulb is getting weak). However, when I
turn on the bathroom ceiling light, the night light stops flickering.
WHAT THE HECK?????? This makes no sense at all.

Note: (There is not any photo cell on the night light).

It is common for aging "high intensity" neon glow lamps to do this -
flicker and work better with light.

("High intensity" ones are ones with pure neon rather than the "standard
intensity" with the dimmer neon-argon mixture and lower current design
electrodes. Night lights with neon glow lamps usually have a "high
intensity" type such as C2A/"NE-2H" or A1C/"mini NE-2H".)

What you see is the photoelectric effect. Light helps electrons leave
the electrode surface and enter the neon. When a "high intensity" neon
glow lamp gets old, the coating on the electrodes gets worn out and the
photoelectric effect makes a noticeable difference in performance.

"Standard Intensity" neon glow lamps (like A1A/"NE-2" and A1B/"NE-2H"
and NE-51) tend to just fade from the bulb being blackened and are less
likely to flicker.

- Don Klipstein )

Don Klipstein wrote:

In article , Gerry Atrick wrote:

I got one of those orange colored neon night lights in my bathroom.
When the bathroom light is off, this neon light flickers all the time
(which usually means the neon bulb is getting weak). However, when I
turn on the bathroom ceiling light, the night light stops flickering.
WHAT THE HECK?????? This makes no sense at all.

Note: (There is not any photo cell on the night light).


It is common for aging "high intensity" neon glow lamps to do this -
flicker and work better with light.

("High intensity" ones are ones with pure neon rather than the "standard
intensity" with the dimmer neon-argon mixture and lower current design
electrodes. Night lights with neon glow lamps usually have a "high
intensity" type such as C2A/"NE-2H" or A1C/"mini NE-2H".)

What you see is the photoelectric effect. Light helps electrons leave
the electrode surface and enter the neon. When a "high intensity" neon
glow lamp gets old, the coating on the electrodes gets worn out and the
photoelectric effect makes a noticeable difference in performance.

"Standard Intensity" neon glow lamps (like A1A/"NE-2" and A1B/"NE-2H"
and NE-51) tend to just fade from the bulb being blackened and are less
likely to flicker.

- Don Klipstein )

Same theory used on the "neon on a stick" microwave oven
leakage detector.

If you can get to the resistor that's in series with the
neon lamp, try this trick. Bypass (parallel) the existing
resistor with a 1K 2-5W resistor. Apply power for a few
seconds, everything will get hot, you will see the
electrodes seem to "burn off the impurities" and glow solid,
top to bottom. Remove power, remove 1K resistor, should give
you another 5yrs.

Danger! You are working with live AC line, a bulb that can
burst, and bulb and resistor that will be hot. Take all
safety precautions for shock, flying glass, and burns! A
long extension cord, lamp one end, you at other is good.

A new lamp is a $1 ;-)

-larry/dallas

DON - thanks for your great reference on gaseous
illuminators, use it all the time!

Not many people can tell you what Albert Einstein got his Nobel prize
for


Don Klipstein wrote:
What you see is the photoelectric effect. Light helps electrons leave
the electrode surface and enter the neon. When a "high intensity" neon
glow lamp gets old, the coating on the electrodes gets worn out and the
photoelectric effect makes a noticeable difference in performance.