grant_k:mattwnz: Energy saver bulbs are also fluorescent, so should also glow under the same conditions.
Probably wouldn't work because the Field Strength which causes Fluoro bulbs to light, works on a Volts per Metre basis.? With a standard Fluoro tube at close to a metre long, a decent voltage builds up to power the discharge.? With a CFL, the distance from one end to the other is very short because it is in a coil, so there probably wouldn't be enough voltage unless you were in an immensely powerful electrical field.? If that was the case, it would probably be most unwise to live there!
I do remember the fluoro tubes in the ACU huts beneath those masts at Henderson lighting up by themselves though.? It gave a quick visual indication that the mast was live, so provided a useful warning.
You are probably right, although I can get energysavers to light up with they are close to a plasma ball.