Out of curiosity I made a small addition to the "Agricultural Lighting" section that I announced previously. I added a detailed analysis of Fusion Inc.'s Sulfur Microwave lamp. It turns out that it is indeed a very efficient lamp for growing plants, just as NASA scientists have said. In fact it outperforms all other conventional light sources - except LEDs. Plus the total photon flux from the Sulfur Microwave lamp dwarfs every other type of lamp (even LEDs), meaning a single lamp can illuminate a very large area. Still methods of distributing light from a single source would decrease efficiency, and LEDs can be individually placed to cover a wide area without any losses. The question is whether a Sulfur Microwave Lamp is a cheaper alternative to LEDs, and whether there is more room for improvement in this area, or if pursuing LEDs would be a better goal for R&D? The second question is why is NASA using artificial lighting for growing plants in space, rather than just sunlight which is clearly far superior and more efficient... maybe the 90 min. orbit has something to do with it?

The article that inspired me:
Light Farming

My analysis:
Agricultural Lights