Fluorescent Lights

• A gas that reacts to an electrical current passing through it fills fluorescent lights. As the electrical current jumps across the gas bulb, the gas atoms become energized and release energy particles, which hit the coating on the inside of the bulb. This coating also becomes energy, but when it releases energy particles it releases them as light waves, providing fluorescent light.
  
  

Ballasts

• The creators of the first fluorescent lights added magnetic ballasts to manage the flow of electrical current. The ballast provides the starting burst of current into the fluorescent bulb that allows it to light up. After the energizing of the bulb, the ballast continues to balance the current cycles for the bulb's needs, making sure it does not get too much or too little current. Ballasts have ratings for different levees of voltage depending on the type of fluorescent bulb, but most ballasts work with most bulbs. One primary difference is bulbs that have electronic instead of magnetic ballasts. The magnetic ballast uses an iron, magnetized core to manage electrical current, while the electronic version uses an inverter/switcher to manage the current through smaller circuits.
  
  

Appearance

• Magnetic ballasts operate the bulbs at 60 hertz, which causes the traditional flicker of fluorescent bulbs, which can give many people headaches. Electronic ballasts, on the other hand, increase the current to 120 hertz or more, which almost completely removes the flickering effect.
  
  

Cost

• Magnetic ballasts are cheaper to buy and replace than electronic versions. They have a simpler albeit larger design, and use fewer delicate circuits. However, electronic ballasts offer greater long-term savings by using less energy to manage the bulb voltage.
  
  

Dimming

• Fluorescent bulbs that can dim in brightness need electronic ballasts. These ballasts can manage multiple levels of voltage output and switch quickly between them. Magnetic ballasts struggle to do the same thing, and most dimmable fluorescent bulbs function with electronic ballasts.
  
  

Durability

• People still use magnetic ballasts because of their durability. Their greater simplicity allows them to last longer with burning out or failing. Some manufacturers prefer magnetic ballasts because of this greater dependability.