Difference Between Electronic Choke and Electronic Ballast?

The ballast you refer to as found in a fluorescent lighting fixture is special kind of choke it limits the current flow so the tube does not burn out too quickly.

The sort of choke you call an electronic choke is very much smaller and most often used at radio frequencies. Often refered to as coils.

There is yet another type used in valve (tube) equipment to reduce hum.

I expect all the usual suspects will come out to berate me so excuse me while I find my tin helmet.

Gosh don't be so paranoid! I'm not sure what exactly is being asked. There are electronic ballasts for florescent lamps that use circuitry to develop the currents to operate the lamps. These typically operate at a much higher frequency and are in fact the key element in the compact florescent lamps now replacing incandescent. The classic way to limit current in a simple florescent lamp (one with a separate starter or push button starter) is with a ballast that is nothing more than a large inductor and so could be called a choke but I would class it as electrical not electronic so if someone wanted an electronic choke I would agree with your definition of a small inductor typically used to block RF in a variety of circuit configurations. The ballast for larger fluorescent lamps is more of a special combination transformer than a simple inductor and so would not generally be correctly referred to as a choke.

I'm not sure if the two are related. A search through the 'net should give you millions of hits (of course, going through all of them might take half your life-time).

An electronic ballast is used in fluorescent lighting. It replaces the old coil-type ballasts which were less energy efficient and sometimes over-heat and cause fires.

An electronic choke is the electronic version of the old automobile mechanical choke. It's a device that increased the fuel-air ratio when starting a cold engine to ensure that the engine runs and continues to run while it's warming up. When the engine has warmed up, it restores the normal fuel-air ratio for running the car.

(got an extra tin hat, Brainwave?)

Cool, I hadn't thought of that kind of electric choke! Wasn't there a sci-fi movie once where people had collars that would tighten around their necks if they misbehaved? Another electric choke.

Yes sir, There is also an electronic ballast in some old Chrysler cars. When the gentleman said what's the diff between the electronic choke and ballast...well... being an old automobile hack that I am, that is the first thing I thought of!!! Many Chryslers would have trouble starting. Located on the firewall there was a ballast (coiled wire) that was usually the culprit!!! And as for the electronic choke...I preferred the old mechanical advance and a little vacuum.

Would those be the two(?) white rectangular thingies on the firewall?

The two terms are commonly used in the electrical industry especially in discharge lighting.

In this case they both amount to the same thing.

The proper term is ballast, which is used to provide a high starting voltage to ignite the gas in tubes and lamps, but due to the low resistance of the cathode heaters the current must be limited after ignition, which is the secondary function of the ballast.

Unfortunately anything which is used as a restrictor tends to get called a choke - this can cover a wide range of applications as previously advised.

C'mon folks . . . A ballast and a choke perform the same sort of function. They both have characteristic impedances which are functions of frequency. One was developed by people who tinker with radios and the other by people who tinker with lights. One was named, "choke," and one was named, "ballast."

Are you asking about the diference between magnetic & electronic ballasts?

The first is a choke coil. The second switches the current at a specific voltage.