In article , mm wrote:
On Mon, 20 Feb 2006 15:46:00 -0700, Random Netizen
wrote:

And I don't think they give the broad range of frequencies
that incandescent lamps give. AIUI they just give the frequency that
the gas inside fluoresces at. Maybe there is more than one gas and
2 or 3 frequencies, although I haven't heard that, but 2 or 3 is still
too few.

Unless someone convinces me otherwise, I wouldn't want one to be the
sole source of light in a room, but I'm willing to use it for an
outdoor or close light where no one will be using it for long, or the
basement where there are two fixtures, and one has a regular bulb.

The usual 2700K compact fluorescents have a rated color rendering index
of 82 and have 4 major spectral components and some minor ones.

The major ones a

1. A violetish blue mercury wavelength (436 nm)
2. A phosphor band in the green-blue to blue-green (roughly 480-490 nm)
3. A phosphor band in the slightly yellowish green with a strong mercury
wavelength nearby (542 and 546 nm)
4. A phosphor wavelength in the orange-red (611 nm)

There are weaker mercury wavelengths in the violet and yellow, and weaker
phosphor wavelengths in the orange and red.

The red, green and blue photoreceptors in human vision each receive
about as much stimulation from a usual compact fluorescent as from an
incandescent of the same light output. Scotopic photoreceptors get a
little less but not a whole lot less.

My main complaint about the spectrum of compact fluorescents is that
pure red objects often look a bit orangish. I would in most circumstances
light a room entirely with fluorescent light.

- Don Klipstein )