Probably a stupid question(s), but oh well. I got a free black light poster with an album. It's OK looking on it's own, but I imagine it looks far cooler when it's glowing properly. So I bought a black CFL bulb (this one: http://www.homedepot.com/p/Feit-Electric-60W-Equivalent-Black-Spiral-CFL-Light-Bulb-BPESL15T-BLB/100553168 ) since it had good reviews and placed it directly above the poster, facing down. It kind of makes the first few inches glow a bit, but that's it. It's pretty pathetic, really, even with the entire room dark. So, is it just the bulb? Or is it the room? The walls are all white, which I'm guessing might be the problem. I tried taking the poster out of the frame, but it didn't seem to make a difference.
geee....I don't know...could it be SCIENCE is the problem? that's a tiny 13 watt cfl...wtf did you expect from a tiny light bulb?
Well, the reason I made the thread is obviously because I didn't know. You don't need to act like a condescending tool just because apparently you know something that I don't. Instead, could you maybe help me out? That bulb's supposedly the equivalent of a 60W bulb, hence why I thought it'd work (and why I chose it, as that's what my lighting fixture uses). But my understanding was that "60W equivalent" meant that I can only use this in a lighting fixture rated 60W or more. Is that not the case? For example, there's a similar model that uses 20W, but is considered a 75W equivalent. Can I use that in a 60W max lighting fixture? Furthermore, would that be enough wattage to get the effect from my poster?
obviously, the brighter the UV light, the more shit will shine, but... speaking from experience (was messing around with UV painting for awhile, before it became not worth it), a black light needs to be powerful enough to illuminate UV reactive surfaces while the room/area is STILL under NORMAL lighting. UV spectrum light on its own is basically murder on the retinas. lights this powerful only really come in the tube design, (you can get all sorts of CFL's and hand-held LED devices, but these are weak, and are designed mainly for detecting counterfeit money). tubes are generally abit more expensive as they are mostly designed for the entertainment industry. but are made to perform and last, so probably the best bet. those shitty little ones you get that plug into a car cigarette lighter are NOT worth your time. hope this helps, good luck mang
It's not just the size of the bulb, but the way it's made. If memory serves me, the process by which blacklight CFL's are made filters more light than the a normal fluorescent blacklight. So yeah, the tube blacklights definitely work much better.
its actually just the bulb you have. IMO the long bulbs work best, put off more uv light. I have one 24' one and it lights up my whole room. runs about 15-20 bucks at your local spencers.