We usually think of plasma as a foreign and exotic type of matter that exists only in space or maybe the occasional ICP spectrometer. Its something hot and dangerous, not something present in common household objects like light bulbs. One company however aims to change that concept by creating a new plasma powered light bulb that has an efficiency above LEDs or CFLs. The bulb works by creating a plasma out of a small amount of argon gas and alkali metals to produce a bright white light. The bulb does this by combining an RF source with a high power electric field, rather than a time vaired magnetic field like that of ICP.
http://www.switched.com/2008/03/25/inventors-create-pill-sized-bulb-thats-brighter-than-a-street-l/
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/04/luxim-plasma-lifi-light-bulb-led-cfl.php
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Interesting. But I wonder how cost-efficient they would be?
Also, one of the sites you posted mentioned how CFL bulbs are known to contain mercury. I wasn't aware of this and looked up more information on it. This article I found talks about how people should recycle these bulbs instead of throwing them away in the trash since they can easily break and leak mercury into our environment. Some cities have even outlawed throwing them away in the trash. Now I'll make sure to recycle the CFL bulbs I have at home once I'm done with them.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7431198
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