The older ones work with the use of plasma. Your are correct in saying that it needs a large current at the beginning to cause the arc. The bulb is actually just a tube with gas that when fed the current will light up. Anyhow, the ballast is where the process of arcing the lighting up starts. This website is a great resource on the subject and it explains the concepts great. This is also a good one that you might want to check out: http://home.howstuffworks.com/fluorescent-lamp4.htm
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