After the new lighting arrays  were installed in the Forrestal Building, they reduced energy usage "by more than 60 percent" for that area, Ervin said. DOE estimates that the cost of lighting large areas in the United States is 8,000 million a year, so if the new bulb is widely used, sayings could be significant.

According to DOE, the new lighting has attractive optical qualities,  "closelysimulating sunlight."

In current test arrays, two small bulbs are put into each end of a 72-meter-long reflective plastic "light pipe." One of these pipes now lights an area that had been lit by 240  175-watt mercury lamps in the Forrestal Building, producing four times as much light at one third the cost.

欧文说，在福雷斯特尔大楼安装的新型照明系列之后，该地的能源消耗节省“60%以上”。能源部估计，美国大面积的照明每年共须花费80亿美元，因此，如果新型灯泡能广泛应用，节约的金额将是巨大的。

据能源部宣称，新光源具有很吸引人的光学质量，“近乎可模拟太阳光”。

在最近的几组试验中，两个小灯泡分别装进一只72米长的反射塑料“光管”的两端。现在，其中的一只光管照亮了福雷斯特尔大楼的一个原由240个175瓦汞灯照明的区域，发出的光为汞灯的四倍而成本仅为原来的三分之一。

Experts note the "new-fangled" bulb emits less ultraviolet light than traditional large-area lighting, making it easier to avoid damaging displays or works of art. In addition, the new kind of light, which is optically somewhat similar to sunlight, seems to be good for growing plants.

At the moment, nobody knows howlong the new bulbs willlast. Since they do not have electrodes there are no filaments to burn out-so they may last a long time. Light output doesn't seem to diminish after extensive use and since this high-efficiency lamp does not make use of mercury, there is no toxic mercury to dispose of.

专家们认为，这种“新奇的”灯泡所射出的紫外线光少于传统的大面积采光，从而更有利于避免对陈列品或艺术品的损坏。此外，由于该新光源在光学上有些近似太阳光，因此似乎有利于植物的生长。

目前，尚无人知道该新型灯泡的寿命有多长。由于它们没有电极，也就没有烧毁灯丝的问题—一因此它们可能会使用很长时间。在广泛的使用之后，光的输出量似乎并不会减少——而且，由于这种高效灯不使用汞，也就无需处理有毒的水银。

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