Issue link: https://te.mouser.com/i/1410851
It was only after widespread acceptance that the light bulb started making its way into new, novel, and decorative light fixtures. An entirely new segment of the lighting market, one that is purely decorative, began to develop and gain market acceptance. Lighting for purely decorative purposes continues today and has even developed into a lighted advertisement subset (e.g., beer and product promotion signs, neon signs) that are still decorative in nature. A number of years passed in which the incandescent bulb was the only electric light source commercially available for general illumination. Shortly before World War II, the fluorescent bulb was released, offering the world a uniform, linear light source suitable for illuminating large spaces. As with the incandescent bulb, the characteristics of this light source required a new socket to allow easy replacement of the fluorescent bulb. The now familiar "tombstone" socket shown was developed specifically for these linear light sources. Unlike the incandescent bulb, the fluorescent bulb could not be readily retrofit into existing light fixture designs so a new fixture design was required. The new fixture design, coupled with the harsh, blue-white light emitted by the early bulbs meant this new light source would find few residential applications since consumers wanted the warm glow of an incandescent bulb. As a result, the fixture design that developed was geared toward commercial applications with a focus on utility rather than aesthetics. Typically rectangular or square in shape, these fixtures are used with one or more fluorescent bulbs and are now ubiquitous in industrial and commercial applications. Driven by the growing requirements of energy conservation, it was not until the 1990s when the efficient fluorescent bulb morphed into the now familiar compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) targeting residential/consumer use. Given the huge installed base of Edison sockets around the world, it was natural that the CFL was offered with an Edison base for easy, energy efficient, retrofit replacement. Even with the Edison base, the initial blue-white CFLs found poor consumer acceptance due to the harsh light and poor color rendition. Newer, higher quality warm-white products now on the market are finally gaining consumer recognition and are making their way into homes. It should be noted that as CFLs gain acceptance, certain states (California) now mandate that all energy efficient bulbs incorporate a new GU-24 bulb base rather than the Edison base thereby precluding installation into legacy fixtures. How this will develop and spread to other areas is being closely monitored. With that said, advocates of SSL readily point out the initial market failures of CFL and the need to provide a consumer-friendly lighting solution to prevent a similar initial market failure [2]. We now find ourselves with a new solid state light source: the light emitting diode (LED). Although this phenomenon was first observed in the early 1900s, it was not until the turn of the 5