Why do fluorescent light bulbs blink on and off for a few seconds when you switch them on?

Question

Why do fluorescent light bulbs blink on and off for a few seconds when you switch them on?

Answer 1

There is a time delay as the ballast generates enough voltage to power the device.

Answer 2

There are two small heating elements at the end s of tube. First when you switch on current flows through them  and heat is produced to ionise the Mercury vapour.Then,the starter opens that circuit,causing choke coil to induce high voltage so that the gas inside is illuminated by the spark through the ionised gas.This process cause the blinking.

Answer 3

Some of them (like the one you see) has a starter.  The starter is a mechanical switch that does that -- turns on and off creating a temporary  high voltage to start ionizing the gas inside the tube.

Most tubes use a magnetic ballast and the high voltage is generated in a transformer.  

The starter switch generates HV by causing a rapid change in current in a series inductor, that gets applied to the lamp.

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