CFLs - another example of efficient government intervening in our lives ensuring us the best life possible.

 

I do look forward to LED bulbs, as long as their light is good.

I love how everyone compares CFLs to incandescents. Incandescents were the best technology when they were invented decades ago. They are horribly inefficient and their color rendering is just as bad when compared to sunlight. In my opinion, light bulbs should give off light resembling sunlight not incandescent light. Modern CFLs and LEDs more closely duplicate sunlight which is more blue than incandescents. We are slaves to what is "normal", reddish light from a teardrop shaped bulb. Everything else is bad. Embrace change for the better.

 

Rant over.

 

I don't think that's entirely correct.

 

Incandescents give off a continuous, even spectrum of light whereas CFLs and other fluorescent lights have concentrated peaks of intensity in various parts of the spectrum. This leads to things like color casts when photographing under CFLs. To make the light appear more natural the coating in the bulb is blended with different phosphors to create a more natural looking light. But still, it is not like natural light or even an incandescent bulbs.

 

LEDs are closer to incandescent though.

 

See more info here:

 

http://web.ncf.ca/jim/misc/cfl/