Photonics Dictionary

A lamp that uses the transmission of an electric current through a gas or vapor to produce illumination. Neon, mercury and argon lamps are examples of electric-discharge lamps.

An electric discharge between two carbon rods that are touched together to start the arc and then separated slightly. The light comes from the heated carbon vapor. High-intensity arcs use cored...

One of the first lasers to find practical application. Generally, the pumping mechanism is an electric discharge, although some high-power forms employ chemical reaction or gas compression and...

An electric discharge in a low-pressure gas having a low-current density and a space potential near the cathode that is much higher than the ionization potential of the gas but less than its sparking...

An electric discharge lamp in which the conducting vapor is that of metallic sodium instead of the usual mercury. It emits a strong yellow light of a single wavelength.