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DISCHARGE LAMPS
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INTRODUCTORY QUESTION
A fluorescent lamp tube is coated with a white
powder on its inside surface. If that powder
were not there, the lamp would appear
A. brighter
B. dimmer
C. about the same overall brightness, but with an
unpleasantly bright white line near its center
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OBSERVATIONS ABOUT
DISCHARGE LAMPS
They often take a few moments to turn on
They come in a variety of colors, including white
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4 QUESTIONS ABOUT
DISCHARGE LAMPS
Why not stick with incandescent lamps?
How can colored lights mix so we see white?
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QUESTION 1
Why not stick with incandescent lamps?
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An incandescent lamp
emits mostly invisible infrared light,
so less than 10% of its thermal power is visible light.
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QUESTION 2
How can colored lights mix so we see white?
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SEEING IN COLOR
We have three groups of light-sensing cone cells
Primary sensors/colors of light: red, green, and blue
When the primaries mix unevenly, we see others
colors
When three primaries mix evenly, we see white
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QUESTION 3
How can white light be produced without heat?
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ATOMIC FLUORESCENCE
Excited atoms lose energy via radiative
transitions
During a transition, electrons shift to lower
orbitals
Photon energy is the difference in orbital
energies
Small energy differences infrared photons
Moderate energy differences red photons
Big energy differences blue photons
Very Big differences ultraviolet photons
Each atom typically has a bright resonance line
Mercurys resonance line is at 254 nm, in the UV
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PHOSPHORS
A mercury discharge emits mostly UV light
A phosphor can convert UV light to visible
by absorbing a UV photon
and emitting a less-energetic visible photon.
The missing energy usually becomes thermal energy.
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QUESTION 4
How do gas discharge lamps produce their light?
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PRESSURE BROADENING
High pressures broaden each spectral line
Collisions occur during photon emissions,
so frequency and wavelength become smeared out.
Collision energy shifts the photon energy
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RADIATION TRAPPING
Radiation trapping occurs at high atom
densities
Atoms emit resonance radiation very efficiently
Atoms also absorb resonance radiation efficiently
Resonance radiation photons are trapped in the gas
Energy must escape discharge via other transitions
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SUMMARY ABOUT
DISCHARGE LAMPS
Thermal light sources are energy inefficient
Discharge lamps produce more light, less heat
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