Really odd question!!! Maybe there is an answer.

[Studdy]

I have a question about lighting in a recording room. I find lights make some type of noise, obviously you can really hear it with standard 4 ft. fluorescent lights, so i turn them off when recording, but in my lamps i have those new style energy bulbs they make very little noise, you have to listen for it. But they still make some sound. My odd question is "is there any light source that is absolutely 100% silent?"

[wheatgrinder]

Do regular, non-hazardous, incandescent lights make noise? I have more trouble with transformers from florescent lights on my circuit (old house) causing line noise in my guitar pickups! I dont hear any acutal sound waves coming from the fixtures... but they are in another part of the house, so I wouldn't anyway..

Those little "energy" bulbs are florescent, just like the 4 footers, but just shorter :-)

Try old fashioned light bulbs in your lamps..see if they yield lower noise....

Thanks

[jagcmos]

Like Wheatgrinder said and make sure the bulbs are not on a dimmer. Lower voltages can cause even a incandescent bulb to make noise.

[Studdy]

i'll give the oldies a shot. thanks.

[wheatgrinder]

Be super careful with those Compact Florescent Light Bulbs.

Direct from the EPA

Fluorescent light bulbs contain a very small amount of mercury sealed within the glass tubing. EPA recommends the following clean-up and disposal below. Please also read the information on this page about what never to do with a mercury spill.

Before Clean-up: Air Out the Room

• * Have people and pets leave the room, and don't let anyone walk through the breakage area on their way out.
• * Open a window and leave the room for 15 minutes or more.
• * Shut off the central forced-air heating/air conditioning system, if you have one.

Clean-Up Steps for Hard Surfaces

• * Carefully scoop up glass pieces and powder using stiff paper or cardboard and place them in a glass jar with metal lid (such as a canning jar) or in a sealed plastic bag.
• * Use sticky tape, such as duct tape, to pick up any remaining small glass fragments and powder.
• * Wipe the area clean with damp paper towels or disposable wet wipes. Place towels in the glass jar or plastic bag.
• * Do not use a vacuum or broom to clean up the broken bulb on hard surfaces.

Clean-up Steps for Carpeting or Rug

• * Carefully pick up glass fragments and place them in a glass jar with metal lid (such as a canning jar) or in a sealed plastic bag.
• * Use sticky tape, such as duct tape, to pick up any remaining small glass fragments and powder.
• * If vacuuming is needed after all visible materials are removed, vacuum the area where the bulb was broken.
• * Remove the vacuum bag (or empty and wipe the canister), and put the bag or vacuum debris in a sealed plastic bag.

Clean-up Steps for Clothing, Bedding and Other Soft Materials

• * If clothing or bedding materials come in direct contact with broken glass or mercury-containing powder from inside the bulb that may stick to the fabric, the clothing or bedding should be thrown away. Do not wash such clothing or bedding because mercury fragments in the clothing may contaminate the machine and/or pollute sewage.
• * You can, however, wash clothing or other materials that have been exposed to the mercury vapor from a broken CFL, such as the clothing you are wearing when you cleaned up the broken CFL, as long as that clothing has not come into direct contact with the materials from the broken bulb.
• * If shoes come into direct contact with broken glass or mercury-containing powder from the bulb, wipe them off with damp paper towels or disposable wet wipes. Place the towels or wipes in a glass jar or plastic bag for disposal.

Disposal of Clean-up Materials

• * Immediately place all clean-up materials outdoors in a trash container or protected area for the next normal trash pickup.
• * Wash your hands after disposing of the jars or plastic bags containing clean-up materials.
• * Check with your local or state government about disposal requirements in your specific area. Some states do not allow such trash disposal. Instead, they require that broken and unbroken mercury-containing bulbs be taken to a local recycling center.

Future Cleaning of Carpeting or Rug: Air Out the Room During and After Vacuuming

• * The next several times you vacuum, shut off the central forced-air heating/air conditioning system and open a window before vacuuming.
• * Keep the central heating/air conditioning system shut off and the window open for at least 15 minutes after vacuuming is completed.

[jagcmos]

I remember playing with mercury in science class as a kid. We would open a jar full of it and let it roll around in our hands.

No permanent neurological damage that I know of, except for a urge to vote Republican now and then.

[wheatgrinder]

I know what you mean...
My parents couldn't keep a thermometer in the house, we kids would keep smashing them and taking the mercury, eventually we had a baby food jar full of the stuff! I think the neighbor kids contributed too!

That, and steeling the gunpower out of my dads hunting rifle cartridges, are some of my fonder memories... oh, we'd take a hammer and nail to hit the primer (after we used vice grips to pull of the bullet and dump out the gunpowder of course) the primers would pop like a firecracker and send some little bit of metal flying off with a zzzzzzingggg.. very cool

Then dad starting reloading his own bullets, and getting gun powder was much easier.. when he got into black powder rifles, we started having some REAL fun..
lol..

[izzme]

I read in mix magazine the led lights run on DC current was the quiet way.

[tatteredstudios]

Originally Posted by jagcmos

I remember playing with mercury in science class as a kid. We would open a jar full of it and let it roll around in our hands.

No permanent neurological damage that I know of, except for a urge to vote Republican now and then.

And you don't call that a problem ?

[whomper]

LEDs should be quiet

for audio recordign purposes real (incadescent) light bulbs dont make noise (although they can carry the sound out the power lines because the filament acts like a microphone so the
kgb cia mossad svr etc can hear what is going on)