Abstract: The lamp shown herein is a beam mode fluorescent lamp for general lighting applications. The lamp comprises a light transmitting envelope, having a phosphor coating on its inner surface, enclosing a pair of thermionic electrodes and a fill material, such as mercury, which emits ultraviolet radiation upon excitation. During application of the first polarity of an AC signal, one electrode acts as a cathode and the other electrode functions as an anode. During the other AC polarity, the electrodes reverse their functions. This invention reduces the requirement for input power to a beam mode discharge lamp without adversely affecting luminous output. This lamp substantially eliminates wasted electron bombardment energy to the anode by use of this energy to help heat the cathode for the next half of the AC cycle. This lamp employs a single power source and may be used in various pre-heat or rapid start configurations.