Ripple in various light sources

[NewBie]

It has been a while since I did some light source ripple posts, these are measurements of the actual light comming out of various sources I happened to have sitting nearby, or on my person:

Old Costco silver flashlight:

Peak multiple LED UV flashlight:

40W Incandescent bulb (if you think for a moment, you'll understand why the ripple frequency is 120Hz):

McGizmo PD on high (Wiz2x2):

McGizmo PD on low (Wiz2x2):

Fluorescent bulb, electronic ballast:

 

[greenLED]

I'm sure a lot of work went into making those graphs, but I'm EE-impaired, NewBie. Could you please elaborate on what the "squiggly" lines mean? Most importantly (I guess), what do the differences in the curves mean in the "real world".

:thanks:

 

[GeorgePaul]

And I thought Ripple was a kind of cheap wine. Live and learn.

 

[NewBie]

The ripple is the light output going up and down. In these examples, it is something you would not see by eye.

LEDs also get less efficient, the more ripple they have. The PD Wiz 2x2 has the least ripple.

Higher frequency ripple causes additional dissipation in an LED die.

 

[BrighTor]

Hehe, before I looked at who posted it, I thought this thread was going to be about low on-hand stock at the usual light stores/sources...

Thank you for the explanation, NewBie.

 

[Illum]

i have no idea what the grphs mean, but they are intriguing and colorful

:kewlpics:

 

[RickB]

Cool stuff! If I'm understanding my electronics, a direct-drive incandescent should show no ripple, right? What about a hotdriver like AWR's, or the Surefire A2?

-Rick