halogen vs standard bulb

[lee8040]

whats the difference with the 2 above types of bulbs?

[Polo]

I believe the halogen gas used inside allows the fillament to burn brighter, making it, er, brighter.

Oh, and they are more expensive.
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[cal91]

[Andyco11]

always make sure that the light unit you are going to fit a halogen bulb to is rated to use one as halogen not only burns brighter but burns hotter and could melt your lighting unit
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The Florida Forum

[Im-a-Ridah]

As for the difference. Halogens are the "standard" bulb. Xenons are like Halogens, but have Xenon gas in them which makes them whiter (though not really much brighter), these are often called "HID effect" lights as they make the same colour light. Finally there are HID headlights which run on high voltage and you need to install a ballast to power them, these are very bright but pretty expensive.

[The Tot]

Argon gas is what they usually put into "normal" lightbulbs, something inert for the filament to heat up in. If you look where argon is in the periodic table, it's in group 8; i.e. the outer valance of electrons is fully occupied thus the inertness (inability to conduct electrons). If you can cast your mind back to your GCSE science, this "group 8" elements are otherwise known as the "noble gases"... The gas used will have their own individual properties.

We are increasingly seeing as shift of bulbs being filled with Xenon - now, i'm not a chemist so I won't know the scientific reasoning as to WHY the burn brighter other than it's a heavier element than Argon with more occupied electron shells. Anyway, Xenon allows the filament to burn brighter, presumable because of its electronic and chemical properties compared to Argon.

HID's are a different kettle of fish. The bulbs themselves are filled with xenon, but rather than lighting a filament, an arc is produced, hence the requirement for high voltage (30kV or something like that, which is produced by the ballast to create that ion stream). This arc discharges electrons through the bulb creating a "stream" of bright light. You can wikipedia High Intensity Discharge lighting.

And who says they were expensive!? I got mine from china for 30 quid and have been satisfied for 6 months, i'll be able to help you with HID installs if you need guidance. I don't intend to revert back to my Xenons purely because they have such a longer beam spread which is perfect for night riding (you must carefully adjust the beam so as not to dazzle other road users - it's not recommended to use HIDs on reflectors intended for Incandescent light bulbs and i think people are trying to outlaw aftermarket HIDs)
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