With the development of civilization, the demand for all forms of energy is growing from year to year. Electricity tariffs are constantly increasing due to the increase in energy consumption and the reduction of surface reserves. Improving energy efficiency at the household level, energy saving depends on the consumer. However, scientists are also involved in solving this problem.

For example, scientists at Al-Farabi Kazakh National University have modernized the technology of energy-saving lamps and developed a new model of energy-saving lamps. Its main feature is the improvement of the technical characteristics of fluorescent lamps with the help of nanotechnology.

The energy-saving lamp is made in the National Open Nanotechnology Laboratory at KazNU. According to the project manager, Candidate of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, laureate of the State Prize of the Republic of Kazakhstan Merlan Dosbolayev, there are no significant changes in the technology of lamp production. The main thing is the efficient use of energy resources.

- Our laboratory studies plasma physics and engineering. Plasma can be obtained in different conditions. The most suitable laboratory plasma is obtained by gas discharge. A gas discharge is the passage of an electric current through a gaseous medium. The resulting gas discharge plasma emits light. The result of our work is to increase the light intensity of the discharge and create a new type of energy-saving lamps, - says the project manager.

When studying the various physical properties of gas discharge plasma in the laboratory, scientists have noticed that the inclusion of micro and nanoparticles in their composition increases several times. In other words, the luminosity of a gas discharge increases without changing the power consumption.

- At the same energy consumption in the laboratory, the light intensity of gas discharge plasma containing nanoparticles has doubled, - said M. Dosbolayev. - After more in-depth research, the idea arose to create a new version of gas-discharge lamps based on nanotechnology. Based on the results of this research in 2012-2013, we published scientific articles in the journals Physics of Plasmas, CPP. Then we took part in the competition of the "Science Foundation" to get a patent for this invention in our country and why not implement it. Today we are working on the production of this project with a grant from the Science Foundation. There are questions in society: "LED lamps are effective, why should we go back?" Let me explain that expensive technology is needed for LED lamps to work effectively. Most of these lamps, which are now on store shelves, are made of cheap materials. And the real quality is expensive. Our lamps are much cheaper.

The project manager mentioned another advantage of this lamp. Lamps made by university specialists still use amalgam instead of pure mercury. "Amalgam is a small amount of mercury in combination with other metals. In this way, it becomes part of the gas discharge, changes the spectrum of light and increases its intensity, "he said.

By the way, we know that this element has a negative effect on human health. Amalgamma is a very effective solution from a safety point of view. According to the scientist, the old lamps would emit a certain amount of radiation if they broke. Sagi Orazbayev, a postdoctoral student at KazNU and a senior researcher at the institute, noted that "the former gas-discharge lamps contain pure mercury, while the nanoparticles we produce contain a mixture of mercury and metals."

- We can not say that we have completely removed mercury. We replaced it with a mixture of mercury and metals - amalgam. In the future, we are considering ways to remove it completely, - says the young scientist.

According to him, the project was first presented in 2011 at a scientific seminar led by Academician Tlekkabyl Ramazanov.

- The fourth state of matter is plasma. We have noticed that the inclusion of nanoparticles increases the intensity of light several times. We have published articles about this in highly rated foreign magazines. Representatives of the foreign scientific community welcomed him. Hence the idea of ​​how to use this phenomenon. The field I am studying is called advanced science. Inside the plasma is a compartment called the dusty plasma. It is a buffer (pure) plasma containing monodisperse particles of micro, nano size. In pure plasma, micro- and nano-particles are introduced from the outside or, in certain cases, grow from the inside. If we burn plasma with inert gases, we can get pure plasma. If these inert gases contain only slightly reactive gases: methane, silane, acetylene, etc. If we add, it grows out of nanoparticles. At the same time, the light intensity of the plasma increases several times, - said S. Orazbayev.

The applicant had a research internship at the Polytechnic University of Orleans, France.

- There was an opportunity to study in detail the effect of increasing the intensity of light and to determine how the intensity of light changes with the size of nanoparticles. Then we received a patent in 2013-2014, when KazNU had a good program called a student business incubator, under which we tried to apply this effect to a gas discharge lamp. As a result, we have developed a new high-intensity nanoparticle gas discharge lamp. This project won first place at the university, and in the same year won the nomination for the best social project in the Business Forum Almaty project, - he recalled.

There are many types of energy-saving light bulbs on the market today. But the scientist says that it is necessary to compare any world in terms of quality.

- Fluorescent lamps (a type of gas discharge lamp), LED lamps are at the forefront of the market as energy-saving lamps. There is another type of induction lamp that has not yet arrived in our country. It is also made on the basis of a gas discharge lamp. It is widely used in America, some European countries and Canada. Because the efficiency is very high, - says the expert.

But now, following the principle of an open economy, in the market you can find both high-quality and low-quality goods. One of them is LED lamps. It is true that today ordinary consumers pay more attention to prices and prefer low-quality, cheap goods. But according to Mr. Sagi, low-quality LED lamps produce harmful linear spectra.

- Because its light intensity is given linearly. Damages certain capillaries of the eye that respond to wavelengths. Therefore, the eyes, which cannot distinguish colors and are blind in the dark, suffer from diseases. This has been scientifically proven by the world community. Korea and Japan were the first countries to use these LED lamps. It is known that the root cause of eye diseases is mainly from this lighting system. The human eye is accustomed to natural light. And the closest to the sunlight are the same filament lamps. But it consumes a lot of energy. The next approach to natural light is fluorescent and induction lamps. Initially, this lamp also had many disadvantages. But over time, research has shown that it is possible to find solutions. At present, LED lamps close to natural light are made using special lenses using modern technology. For example, various focusing lenses, or more expensive technologies, are used to bring linear spectral light closer to natural sunlight. Therefore, such lamps are not cheap. In this regard, high-quality LED lamps are also expensive, - he said.

When it comes to prices, we can not ignore the cost of production, production processes. Mr. Sagi said that we have not yet started to produce the raw materials needed to make lamps - glass, electrodes. "Although we have intellectual property, most of the raw materials needed for production have to come from countries like Russia and China," he said.

So far, the first three years of the project have been successfully completed. According to Mukhit Muratov, director of the National Open Nanotechnology Laboratory, the goal is to sell the product in the future.

- We are also considering the possibility of participating in public procurement tenders. In the future, we plan to sell 100 thousand candles a year. Currently, there is a demand from educational institutions and government agencies, such as universities, schools, colleges. This is because most of these organizations have gas-discharge fluorescent lamps. Replacing another lamp is expensive. And our economical gas discharge lamp is much more profitable for consumers. At present, we have installed our own lamps in the building of the Faculty of Physics and Technology of our university, - said the head of the laboratory.

In the future, it is planned to use energy-saving lamps invented by KazNU scientists for all the needs of the university. Thus, we hope that the project will reach a level of self-sufficiency in three years.

Camilla Duisen