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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 September 2014
The mercury vapour lamp, although very economical in its use of electrical energy, is not employed very extensively at the present day for illuminating purposes, chiefly because the light it emits is not white, but of a greenish hue. Many attempts have been made to produce the deficient red radiation, but these have so far not met with any great success. The lamp, however, is useful as an illuminant where the colour of the light is of no great importance, such as in public works, etc. Further, it is very much used, in the form of rectifiers, for changing alternating to direct electrical current. During the past few years there has been an increasing demand for lamps which are rich in ultra-violet radiation, which is useful for photographic and medical purposes, as, for example, the sterilisation of water, milk, etc. This requirement is met by the mercury vapour lamp, for the ultra-violet spectrum of mercury is particularly intense; lamps used for this purpose must be made of quartz, since ordinary glass absorbs ultra-violet radiation. Then, again, the mercury spectrum is extremely useful in spectroscopic work as a reference spectrum.
page 117 note * For history, see Recklinghausen, von, “Ueber die Quecksilberdampflampe von P. C. Hewitt,” Elektrot. Zs., p. 492, 1902.Google Scholar
page 117 note † Leblane, Maurice, “Expériences de M. Cooper Hewitt sur les tubes à vide,” Journ. de Phys. (4), 4, p. 416, 1905.Google Scholar
page 117 note ‡ Arons, Leo, “Eine Amalgamlampe mit reichem Linienspektrum,” Ann. d. Phys. (4), 23, pp. 176–178Google Scholar; Bussmann, O., Elektrot. Zs., vol. xxxviii., 1907Google Scholar; Ives, H. E., “White Light from the Mercury Arc and its Complementary,” Bull. Bureau of Standards, vi p. 265, 1909.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
page 120 note * The time that elapses between the switching on of the current and the striking of the arc depends, for a given heating element and a given current strength, on two factors, namely, the pressure in the small vessel due to the head of mercury above the constricted portion, and the quantity of mercury contained in the small vessel. The lamp, as shown in fig. 8, was designed to cut down to a minimum the time of starting.
page 120 note † “A New Method of Sealing Electrical Conductors through Glass,” G. B. Burnside.
page 122 note * A Sprengel three-fall pump was used by the authors.