The lifetimes of the photoluminescent compounds contained in the coating of fluorescent compact
lamps are usually measured using specialised instruments, including pulsed lasers and/or
spectrofluorometers. Here we discuss how some low cost apparatuses, based on the use of either
sensors for the educational lab or commercial digital photo cameras, can be employed to the same
aim. The experiments do not require that luminescent phosphors are hazardously extracted from the
compact fluorescent lamp, that also contains mercury. We obtain lifetime measurements for specific
fluorescent elements of the bulb coating, in good agreement with the known values. We also address
the physical mechanisms on which fluorescence lamps are based in a simplified way, suitable for
undergraduate students; and we discuss in detail the physics of the lamp switch-off by analysing the
time dependent spectrum, measured through a commercial fiber-optic spectrometer. Since the
experiment is not hazardo…