What is a ballast?

[Aaron]

What exactly is a ballast? Why do people want to have a
special ballast? What is the reason?

Thanks.

[Tom Randy]

On Sun, 17 Apr 2005 03:23:35 -0700, Aaron wrote:

>
> What exactly is a ballast? Why do people want to have a special ballast?
> What is the reason?
>
> Thanks.


It starts the flourescent lights. Sometimes refered to as a "Starter"

[Tom Randy]

On Sun, 17 Apr 2005 03:23:35 -0700, Aaron wrote:

>
> What exactly is a ballast? Why do people want to have a special ballast?
> What is the reason?
>
> Thanks.


Google is your friend:

Ballast : A device used with an electric-discharge lamp to obtain the
necessary circuit conditions (voltage, current and wave form) for starting
and operating

[Justin West]

Typically a "light ballast" is a system that incorporates fluorescent
tubes. The ballast as Tom stated typically steps up the voltage from
normal (North American) 120V to something in the thousands of volts.

There are different fluorescent tubes for different applications.
Typically if you intend on keeping plants in an aquarium than there are
tubes that reproduce light in that part of the spectrum that plants
need in order to grow.

And that's where I stop this message, as I'm more of electronics
doo-dad geek than a biology one. <smiles>

[Watercress]

I read that T1 flurorescent tubes need special ballast.