New Light Bulb Offers Energy Efficiency

新型灯泡提高能效

Paul Malamud

保罗·马拉默德

Washington-A newly-invented light bulb could offer significant energy savings-and better light-to future users worldwide, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

华盛顿——据美国能源部宣称，一种新近发明的灯泡可能会使今后全世界的灯泡使用者大幅度地节约能源，并获得更好的灯光。

On October 20 the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced it was"inaugurating the use" of the new kind of light bulb in experimental installations at its Forrestal Headquarters Building and at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.

10月20日，美国能源部宣布，它正把它安装在首都华盛顿的福雷斯特尔总部大楼以及史密森国家航空和航天博物馆的试验装置上，作为一种新型灯泡“开始投入使用”。

The new lighting technology, DOE said in a written statement, is most likely to take the form of "high quality, high-efficiency illumination for large indoor or outdoor spaces" once it is made commercially available.

美国能源部在一份书面声明中称，这种新的照明技术，一旦投入商业生产，将很可能为“室内外宽阔场地提供高质量、高效率的照明”。

The new kind of artificial light consists of a bulb filled with inert gas and a small amount of sulfur that is bombarded by microwaves to produce luminescence The Washingon Postwrote, ". One golf-ball-sized sulfur bulb,when irradiated by the kind of compact microwave generator found in ordinary kitchen ovens, puts out as much light as hundreds of high-intensity mercury vapor lamps."

这种新型的人造灯是由一个充满惰性气体和少量硫的灯泡组成的，受微波轰击而发出冷光。《华盛顿邮报》写道：“一个高尔夫球大小的硫灯泡’，一旦受到普通家用微波炉中那种小型微波发生器的辐射时，就可发出相当于几百个高强度汞汽灯所产生的亮度。”

A small microwave generator at the base of the bulb bombards the inert gas, heating it. The hot gas energizes electrons in the sulfur, which then emit a large amount of visible light. The bulb itself is rotated quickly by a motor to coolit-otherwise it would melt.

安装在灯泡底座的一个小微波发生器轰击惰性气体，使其发热。热气体使硫里的电子载能。电子便放射出大量的可见光。灯泡本身则由一个马达带动迅速旋转以使其冷却——否则灯泡将会熔化。

Christine Ervin, an official at DOE, called the technology "advanced and promising," noting "it can save large amounts of energy and at the same time deliver more quantity and better quality light." She added the technology could improve lighting of public spaces while benefiting "the economy and the environment."

美国能源部的一位官员克里斯廷·欧文称这种技术“先进而前途无量”，认为“它能节约大量能源，同时发出光量更大，质量更好”。她还补充说，该技术既可改进公共场所的照明，又有利于“经济和环境”。

After the new lighting arrays were installed in the Forrestal Building, they reduced energy usage "by more than 60 percent" for that area, Ervin said. DOE estimates that the cost of lighting large areas in the United States is 8,000 million a year, so if the new bulb is widely used, sayings could be significant.

欧文说，在福雷斯特尔大楼安装的新型照明系列之后，该地的能源消耗节省“60%以上”。能源部估计，美国大面积的照明每年共须花费80亿美元，因此，如果新型灯泡能广泛应用，节约的金额将是巨大的。

According to DOE, the new lighting has attractive optical qualities, "closelysimulating sunlight."

据能源部宣称，新光源具有很吸引人的光学质量，“近乎可模拟太阳光”。

In current test arrays, two small bulbs are put into each end of a 72-meter-long reflective plastic "light pipe." One of these pipes now lights an area that had been lit by 240 175-watt mercury lamps in the Forrestal Building, producing four times as much light at one third the cost.

在最近的几组试验中，两个小灯泡分别装进一只72米长的反射塑料“光管”的两端。现在，其中的一只光管照亮了福雷斯特尔大楼的一个原由240个175瓦汞灯照明的区域，发出的光为汞灯的四倍而成本仅为原来的三分之一。

Experts note the "new-fangled" bulb emits less ultraviolet light than traditional large-area lighting, making it easier to avoid damaging displays or works of art. In addition, the new kind of light, which is optically somewhat similar to sunlight, seems to be good for growing plants.

专家们认为，这种“新奇的”灯泡所射出的紫外线光少于传统的大面积采光，从而更有利于避免对陈列品或艺术品的损坏。此外，由于该新光源在光学上有些近似太阳光，因此似乎有利于植物的生长。

At the moment, nobody knows howlong the new bulbs willlast. Since they do not have electrodes there are no filaments to burn out-so they may last a long time. Light output doesn't seem to diminish after extensive use and since this high-efficiency lamp does not make use of mercury, there is no toxic mercury to dispose of.

目前，尚无人知道该新型灯泡的寿命有多长。由于它们没有电极，也就没有烧毁灯丝的问题—一因此它们可能会使用很长时间。在广泛的使用之后，光的输出量似乎并不会减少——而且，由于这种高效灯不使用汞，也就无需处理有毒的水银。