Patent ID: 7773081

Claim:
A fluorescent light source for providing a visible light, the light source comprising: a light-producing channel configured to confine a vaporous material that produces an ultra-violet light when electrically excited; a light-emitting material disposed within at least a portion of the channel that is responsive to the ultra-violet light to produce the visible light; a first and a second electrode assembly disposed within the channel and configured to apply an electrical potential across at least a portion of the channel; a temperature sensor configured to provide a temperature input to a control circuitry; and control circuitry configured to provide thermally compensated control signals based at least on the temperature input to the first and second electrode assemblies to apply the electrical potential in a manner that produces a mean electron energy that produces a significantly higher probability of collisions between electrons and particles that produce light in the ultraviolet range and that decreases, by an order of magnitude or more, a probability of collisions between electrons and particles that produce light in the infrared range.