How do fluorescent lamps create visible light from ultraviolet radiation?

Fluorescent lamps generate visible light through a process involving gas ionization and the physical property of fluorescence.

Inside the lamp's glass tube, a mixture of argon and mercury vapour is subjected to an electric current. This current ionizes the gas, causing it to emit ultraviolet radiation. Because this ultraviolet light is invisible to the human eye, the interior of the tube is coated with substances known as phosphors.

These phosphors absorb the ultraviolet radiation and immediately re-emit the energy as visible light. This method of lighting is significantly more energy-efficient than incandescent lamps, as it does not rely on the continuous heating of a metallic filament to produce illumination.123