Fluorescent Tube

The Fluorescent Tube is a visible fixture of one to four tubes that lights the scene the way real fluorescent lamps do: as a long, soft source that wraps around what it lights instead of throwing one hard shadow. With the default stutter start it blinks through a few false starts before it catches, then climbs to full brightness.

How it works

The light comes from a glowing rectangle the size of the bank of tubes. Such an area light cannot cast shadows on its own, so a share of the output comes from a point at the middle of the fixture, and that part casts the shadow. On top sits the behaviour of an old-fashioned ballast: a faint ripple in the light, a greenish cast next to daylight, and wear that dims the tube, blackens its ends and makes it flicker. Area light only shows on the Standard and Physical surface types.

Settings

• Tubes, Length, Diameter and Tube spacing build the fixture.
• Startup: Instant, or Stutter for the classic flicker-on, which also plays when the scene opens.
• Warm-up (s) is the time to full output; Ballast hum is the depth of the ripple.
• Green spike adds the green cast; Age adds the wear.
• Shadow core is the share of light that casts shadows; 0 gives a pure soft light.
• Temperature (K): 3000K warm white, 4000K cool white, 6500K daylight.

Use it for

Offices, garages, subways, horror scenes and retro interiors. See also the LED Array.