List of light sources

A common household incandescent light bulb.

This is a list of sources of light, including both natural and artificial sources, and both processes and devices.

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Natural

The Sun

Lightning can be a spectacular source of illumination.

• Fire
• Astronomical objects
  • Sunlight (solar radiation)
  • Meteors/meteor showers (via ionization)
  • Stars
    • Star clusters
    • Galaxies
      • Quasars
  • Nebulae
  • Accretion disks
• Bioluminescence
  • Glowworms (Arachnocampa and Phengodidae) and fireflies (Lampyridae)
  • Aequorea victoria (a type of jellyfish)
  • Antarctic krill
  • Lux operon (Genetics)
  • Foxfire
• Lightning
• Aurorae
• Airglow
• Triboluminescence
• Magma (Black body radiation)
• Plasma (physics)

Direct chemical

• Chemoluminescence (Lightsticks)
• Fluorescence
• Phosphorescence

Combustion-based

• Argand lamp
• Argon flash
• Acetylene/Carbide lamps
• Betty lamp
• Butter lamp
• Candles
• Flash powder
• Gas lighting
• Gas mantle
• Kerosene lamps
• Lanterns
• Limelights
• Oil lamps
• Rushlights
• Safety lamps
  • Davy lamps
  • Geordie lamps
• Torches

Electric Powered

Incandescent lamps

• Carbon button lamp
• Conventional incandescent light bulbs
  • Flashlight
• Halogen lamps
• Globar
• Nernst lamp

Electroluminescent (EL) lamps

• Light-emitting diodes
  • Organic light-emitting diodes
  • Polymer light-emitting diodes
  • Solid-state lighting
  • LED lamp
• Electroluminescent sheets
• Electroluminescent wires

Gas discharge lamps

A standard household compact fluorescent lamp

• Fluorescent lamps
  • Compact fluorescent lamps
  • Black light
• Inductive lighting
• Hollow cathode lamp
• Neon and argon lamps
• Plasma lamps
• Xenon flash lamps

High-intensity discharge lamps

• Carbon arc lamps
• Ceramic discharge metal halide lamps
• Hydrargyrum medium-arc iodide lamps
• Mercury-vapor lamps
• Metal halide lamps
• Sodium vapor lamps
• Xenon arc lamps
• Sulfur lamps

Other

See also

• Photometry (optics)
• Spectrometer

External links

• A CD spectrometerColor spectrographs of common light sources
• The Double Amici Prism Hand-Held Spectroscope in Practice - Dozens of raw visible spectra of a wide variety of light sources.
• Museum of Electric Lamp Technology
• Candle Power Forums - an Internet forum dedicated to the discussion of light sources
• LED professional - A Technology Portal and Magazine about LEDs and its Lighting environment