College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
7B10.20 - Spectral Lines/Spectroscopy - Mercury Emission Lines
See also 7B10.20 in Astronomy.
The mercury spectrum should be set up as shown. The mercury source will take at least 5 minutes warm-up.
The wavelengths of the main lines of mercury are:
Violet = 436 nm,
Green = 546 nm,
Yellow = 577 nm & 579 nm (this is actually 2 lines),
Red = 691 nm.
- James Lincoln, "UV Light Revealed", TPT, Vol. 54, #4, Apr. 2016, p. 256.
- Nocholas R. Guilbert, "Shedding Some Light on Fluorescent Bulb", TPT, Vol. 34, #1, Jan. 1996, p. 20.
- "S-180: Concave Reflection Grating", DICK and RAE Physics Demo Notebook.
- Doug Balmer, "Identifying Mercury in Fluorescent Light Bulbs", The Caliper, Vernier Software & Technology, Fall 2017, p. 6.
- "20, Mercury Line Spectrum With a Diffraction Grating", Experiments in Optics, Part 1, J. Klinger Scientific Apparatus Corp., Bulletin 101.
- "17, Mercury Line Spectrum With a Prism", Experiments in Optics, Part 1, J. Klinger Scientific Apparatus Corp., Bulletin 101.
- D. Tattersfield, "7.23, The Spectrum of a Fluorescent Mercury Vapour Lamp", Project & Demonstrations in Astronomy, p.162.
Disclaimer: These demonstrations are provided only for illustrative use by persons affiliated with The University of Iowa and only under the direction of a trained instructor or physicist. The University of Iowa is not responsible for demonstrations performed by those using their own equipment or who choose to use this reference material for their own purpose. The demonstrations included here are within the public domain and can be found in materials contained in libraries, bookstores, and through electronic sources. Performing all or any portion of any of these demonstrations, with or without revisions not depicted here entails inherent risks. These risks include, without limitation, bodily injury (and possibly death), including risks to health that may be temporary or permanent and that may exacerbate a pre-existing medical condition; and property loss or damage. Anyone performing any part of these demonstrations, even with revisions, knowingly and voluntarily assumes all risks associated with them.