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Aerolux Light Corporation was a manufacturer of artful gas-discharge light bulbs from the 1930s through the 1970s. Aerolux made these bulbs in a factory in New York City. US Patents dating back to the 1930s describe the design and construction of these bulbs. Philip J. Kayatt (1896–1975) was president of the company.

Description

Aerolux gas discharge light bulbs contained low pressure gas, either neon or argon, or a mixture of the two. Also within the bulb were metal sculptures coated with phosphors. These phosphors fluoresced when excited by glow discharge. Because glow discharge occurs readily at 110-120 volts AC, one could use these bulbs in standard household lamps in the United States.

The phosphors used in the bulbs were somewhat brittle, necessitating care in handling. Shaking or jarring the bulbs would cause flaking and migration of the phosphors to other parts of the metallic sculpture. Such handling would leave non-fluorescing portions of the sculpture and/or migration of phosphors to other surfaces within the bulb.

Aerolux bulbs consumed about 3-5 watts of power. The bulbs had high yield of light produced versus electricity consumed, generally in the range of 50-60 lumens/watt, compared to 12-18 lumens/watt for a tungsten filament incandescent bulb.

See also

• Neon lamp
• List of light sources
• Neon sign

References

1. "Gift Show Opens With 500 Exhibits". The New York Times. February 22, 1938. Retrieved 2010-11-15.
2. USPTO: 1,989,041 Philip J. Kayatt (1935)
3. USPTO: 2,075,744 Somenosuke Muramatsu
4. USPTO: 2,240,334 Philip J. Kayatt
5. USPTO: 2,263,093 Philip J. Kayatt
6. USPTO: 3,238,408 Philip J. Kayatt
7. USPTO: 3,435,286 Philip J. Kayatt
8. Reif, Rita (May 31, 1973). "Neon-The Industrial Craft That's Been Turned Into Decorative Lighting". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-11-15.
9. The Nature of Light, T.J. Keefe Archived June 12, 2010, at the Wayback Machine

External links

• Aerolux bulb in the Museum of Modern Art in New York City
• Kilokat's antique light bulb site

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• Neon lighting