Color
Each gas, depending on its atomic structure emits certain wavelengths which translates in different colors of the lamp. As a way of evaluating the ability of a light source to reproduce the colors of various objects being lit by the source, the International Commission on Illumination (CIE) introduced the color rendering index. Some gas-discharge lamps have a relatively low CRI, which means colors they illuminate appear substantially different than they do under sunlight or other high-CRI illumination.
| Gas | Color | Spectrum | Notes | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Helium | White to orange; under some conditions may be gray, blue, or green-blue. | Used by artists for special purpose lighting. | ||
| Neon | Red-orange | Intense light. Used frequently in neon signs and neon lamps. | ||
| Argon | Violet to pale lavender blue | Often used together with mercury vapor. | ||
| Krypton | Gray off-white to green. At high peak currents, bright blue-white. | Used by artists for special purpose lighting. | ||
| Xenon | Gray or blue-gray dim white. At high peak currents, very bright green-blue. | Used in flashbulbs, xenon HID headlamps, and xenon arc lamps. | ||
| Nitrogen | Similar to argon but duller, more pink; at high peak currents bright blue-white. | |||
| Oxygen | Violet to lavender, dimmer than argon | |||
| Hydrogen | Lavender at low currents, pink to magenta over 10 mA | |||
| Water vapor | Similar to hydrogen, dimmer | |||
| Carbon dioxide | Blue-white to pink, in lower currents brighter than xenon | Used in Carbon Dioxide Lasers. | ||
| Mercury vapor | Light blue, intense ultraviolet |
Ultraviolet not shown |
In combination with phosphors used to generate many colors of light. Widely used in mercury-vapor lamps. | |
| Sodium vapor (low pressure) | Bright orange-yellow | Widely used in sodium vapor lamps. |
Read more about this topic: Gas Discharge Lamps
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—Frantz Fanon (1925–1961)
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—William Gibson (b. 1948)