What Is a Light Source?
Light source is a general term for anything that emits light. Light sources include the sun, flames, lightning, etc., but generally refers to artificial light sources intentionally created by humans, which emit light produced by electrical or chemical energy conversion.
Classification of Artificial Light Sources by Emission Principle
Artificial light sources include combustion light sources such as candles and gas lamps, but those in general use today are light sources that utilize electrical energy. These light sources can be classified according to their luminescence principle: incandescent lamps and halogen lamps, which use a filament as a luminescent substance; discharge lamps, which use gas discharge; and light-emitting diode (LED) lamps, which use electroluminescence, a phenomenon that occurs when strong energy is applied to a substance.
Discharge lamps are further classified according to the pressure of the discharged gas, with low-pressure discharge lamps such as fluorescent lamps and high-pressure discharge lamps such as metal halide lamps represented by electrodeless lamps, sodium lamps, and xenon lamps.
Among light sources that use the principles of gas discharge or electroluminescence, light that has a uniform direction and phase is called laser light, and light that resonates in pulsed resonance is called pulsed laser light. Laser light sources and laser modules that generate these are utilized as tools such as line lasers, rotating lasers, easy lasers, and point lasers, mainly at construction sites and on factory production lines.
Classification of Artificial Light Sources by Wavelength Range of Light
Artificial light sources are also classified according to the wavelength range of the light they generate. Light sources that emit light with wavelengths longer than the visible light wavelength range (approximately 380 nm to 780 nm) are called infrared light sources, while light sources that emit light with shorter wavelengths are called ultraviolet light sources (UV light sources). When classified by wavelength range and the above-mentioned classification by emission principle, artificial light sources can be further subdivided.
There are also laser light sources that emit light at specific wavelengths and wavelength ranges, such as green lasers and fiber lasers.