A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Why is mercury light used in a diffraction grating experiment?

Best Answers

reference: http://people.uncw.edu/olszewski/labsummer2/laboratory/mercury.pdf Mercury is a heavy element (Atomic Number = 80) that exists as a liquid at room temperature, and is easily volatilized to a vapor. read more

Also, if you used an incandescent lamp, there is a plethora of visible lines that are emitted, which would confound and complicate the diffraction grating experiment. In theory, other elements can also be used in place of mercury, but the easy availability and high volatility of mercury made it a fairly obvious choice to develop a vapor lamp, as a source of visible light of specific frequencies. read more

Spectrometer, diffraction grating, mercury light source, high-voltage power supply. BACKGROUND A diffraction grating is made by making many parallel scratches on the surface of a flat piece of transparent material. It is possible to put a large number of scratches per centimeter on the material, e.g., the grating to be used has 6,000 lines/cm on it. read more

Now let's illuminate the grating with more complicated light sources. The central line is the undeflected beam of undispersed light at angle zero. The first order diffraction pattern appears on either side. A pure gas, when heated, emits light with specific wavelength (and thus specific energy per photon). read more

In contrast, a sodium vapor lamp emits only a single yellow wavelength (D-line) in the visible range of the spectrum. Also, if you used an incandescent lamp, there is a plethora of visible lines that are emitted, which would confound and complicate the diffraction grating experiment. read more

Spectrometer, Grating and Mercury Vapour Lamp. Variable Region: Telescope Calibrate Slider : This slider helps the user to change the focus of telescope. Start Button : Helps the user to start the experiment after setting the focus of telescope. The Start Button can be activated only if the focus of the telescope is proper. Light Toggle Button : Helps the user to switch the lamp ON or OFF. Grating Toggle Button : Helps the user to place or remove the grating. read more

Image Answers

Further Research