On the polarisation of mercury lines emitted from a discharge tube in a magnetic field

Extract

1. Polarisation measurements are described on the Hg lines λ 4358, 5461, 5770, 5791 emitted from a low-pressure electron-maintained arc to which a longitudinal field of up to 3000 gauss may be applied.

2. Two types of polarisation effect have been found. The first is typified by the line λ 5461. It is a polarisation of the light with the electric vector perpendicular to the lines of force. Its maximum value is 9% but it decreases to zero (a) with decreasing field strength and (b) with decreasing current in the tube. It is suggested that this effect is due to a self-reversal of λ 5461 owing to the metastability of the 2 ³p₂ state and that the polarisation may be caused through a slight non-uniformity of the magnetic field.

The second type of effect is found for λ5770 and 5791. The polarisation is in a plane parallel to the discharge, and is found in a zero magnetic field. This effect is further discussed elsewhere. The line λ 4358 is unpolarised under all conditions tried.

3. Neither of these effects implies a polarisation of the total light emitted directly from atoms in the Transverse Zeeman Effect when the atoms are excited under isotropic conditions and the experiments give definite evidence against the existence of such a polarisation effect.