A mercury-vapor lamp is a type of gas discharge lamp that produces light through the excitation of mercury vapor. It consists of a glass bulb filled with low-pressure mercury vapor and an inert gas, such as argon. When an electrical current passes through the bulb, it ionizes the gases, resulting in a discharge that emits ultraviolet (UV) light. This UV light then excites the mercury vapor, causing it to emit visible light primarily in the blue and green spectrum.
OurBigBook Wikipedia Bot
Documentation