Bizarre Behavior From Incandescent Neon Lamp

What medications are you on?

"Incandescent" has a hot filament, "neon" has a bunch of little atoms that get so excited that they glow. I'm going to guess that it is neon." --BruceFlorida

I know, but Wikipedia and DigiKey refer to them as 'Incandescent Neon Lamps'. Sounds odd to me, but I'm trying to use the proper terminology.

My experience is that the ground side of the wiring is the problem half or more of the time.

No, but they do burst into flames sometimes....

https://www.wvpersonalinjury.com/blog/waterpik-toothbrushes-deemed-dangerous-products/

The behavior of light changes when observed, I'm thinking if you stopped looking at it, it would stop this behavior.... These are electrical field variations intermingling and causing electromagnetic field fluctuations resulting in induced harmonic wave propagation....

Thank you to all who replied!

Perhaps I'm not crazy, although my wife thinks I am.

It really is a strange phenomenon to watch, sort of like lightning bugs causing other lightning bugs to illuminate.

What you may be calling as incandescent light is actually the old NE2 lamp which I believe is a helium neon lamp that is being used as pilot light in the olden days.
It normally flickers after awhile of being continuously on for quite some time.

See post #8.

NE2 lamp has no filament, just 2 electrodes surrounded by gas which is probably helium...

<...helium...> or <...neon...>?

It's unlikely to be both.

If you have the time and are so inclined...try to tune it.

Replace the series resistor with a pot set at the resistor value. Wait for blinking. Slowly adjust pot for stop blinking, if it will. This might not work. Turn all other junk on to check blink. Replace previous resistor with pot value. You might find a current sweet spot for your needs.

Don't try it unless you're familiar with power line AC. Around water.

I didn't realize I was so ignorant about these bulbs. Used them all my life. I never had a blinking complaint. Quite finicky it seems.

Neon lamps;

1;have 2 electrodes inside the glass envelope surrounded by neon gas with a typical striking voltage of 70volts RMS.

2; have a central electrode with a perforated screen around the outside as the second electrode.

3; have 2 electrodes one in the center and a cap above the electrode.

4; have one electrode and a portion of the glass is coated with a conductive paint, silvering or aluminium and relies on the glass to form a capacitive connection.

The ones with two electrodes need either a ballast resistor to limit the current or if on AC a capacitor with the right impedance, all very arbitrarydepending on cheapness.

Any of the above electrodes can be treated with an emissive coating, used to be Thorium or some other radioactive coating. If the electrode/s are white couloured then usually that is a sign of a coating to increase the ionisation of the neon.

With all the varied types any stray capacitance can excite the neon or even photons of light striking the gas. Magnetic coupling to the wires inside the plug from the core balance Measurement system could also cause the flickering.

I know our American friends don't have isolating switches included in their plugs but why do you leave the hair dryer plugged into the outlet when not in use for the protection in the plug could fail and result in a pyrotechnic conflagration leading to self immolation! Trust not the socket to not leak electrons which may pool in a low spot.

One of the solutions to the problem is a dob of opaque paint.

Actually, I do like the night light feature, but it's way too bright. I have previously covered it with black electrical tape with a small hole in it to limit it's light output to a tolerable level.

I've experienced this effect many times. I currently have at least two power outlet strips, one is a surge protector, the other is just a power strip, that exhibit the effect. Just a couple of days ago, one of them came on at normal brightness for a short while (several minutes), for no obvious reason, then returned to its failed state.

If you find it too bright, and you are at all electronically knowledgable, you can insert a diode, capable of blocking at least 180 Volts. in series with the lamp, so it will only illuminate on half of the powerline voltage peaks. The peak voltage of 120VAC is around 160 Volts, so the 180V value gives a safety factor.

If you happen to be in a location where the power line voltage is 240 Volts, then double the rating of the diode.

It will actually be glowing at the same brightness, but only half as frequently. If the flicker doesn't bother you, it will seem half as bright

I checked several other dictionaries; their definitions of incandescent all included the term "with" or "due to" intense heat. Neon lamps, and especially NE2s, do not have/use intense heat.

I agree with others here that using the term "incandescent" is NOT appropriate when referring to a neon lamp.

A carbon arc lamp produces light with very intense heat, but I've never heard one referred to as incandescent. I stick with incandescent lamp meaning a lamp the produces its light by heating a filament.

dkwarner,

Agreed, found latin word means growing warm or kindling - all heat but not necessarily intense - no heat needed for neon to glow.

67model

I checked with a company that sells them (Digikey). They probably know more about it than a company that prints dictionaries.

Steve45,

You misunderstood - Digikey put filament and neon lamps in the same group [because obsolescent?] - the comma is important! Choosing NEON gives list of 70 all called "LAMP NEON" - most marked "not for new designs".

67model

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My intent was to differentiate it from a neon sign, so I looked at a vendor and did a search for 'neon lamp'. The ONLY category that popped up that mentioned the word 'neon' was 'incandescent, neon lamps', so I went with that.

It sounds like everybody here knows what I'm talking about, so I'm done.