Dave Austin, age 14, of Dundas, Ontario, Canada, for his question:

HOW DOES A FLUORESCENT LIGHT WORK?

Most fluorescent lamps are shaped into long, thin tubes of glass, the insides of which are coated with a fluorescent material. The lamps, filled with current conducting gas, are made with tungsten filaments at each end which serve as electrodes. When high voltage is applied, the current flows from one electrode to the other and ultraviolet rays, formed by the current flow, excite the fluorescent coating,and make it glow.

Normal voltage of 120 volts is enough to maintain the lamp's current flow, but a device called a starter must be used to provide an initial high voltage charge necessary to start the flow of current.