writes:
Hi: No, there are no fumes to contend with in a zirconium short arc
lamp- it's a teeny thing sealed into a ceramic housing with a sapphire
window and provision for forced air cooling. Like most metal arcs, the
voltage drop is on the order of 35-40 volts and the current runs to a
few amps. The arc approximates a point source to a fine degree. They
used to be somewhat expensive with their power supplies and I don't
suppose that they've gotten any cheaper. But, no optics at all; it works
like the inverse of a pinhole camera.
bye, sid
Dear Sid:
Thanks for the info. Shows how far behind the times I have fallen. The arc
lamps I'm thinking of are the sort of thing you would have found in a
lighthouse, and were open air. Now I feel old.
Junkman
