Measurements of spectral emission and absorption of a high pressure xenon arc in the stationary and the flashed modes.
Concurrently with emission measurements of a high pressure xenon arc in the spectral range 3000 A to 2 micro, its absorption in the ir was measured by a technique based on modulating the less intense radiation of a carbon arc used as background source. The emission measurements were repeated with a rapid scanning spectrometer while flashing the xenon arc for 0.1 see at 10 kW, which is five times the normal power input. The arc showed excellent stability and reproducibility both in the stationary and the flashed modes. The intensity increase of the continuum was proportional to the increase of power input during the flash. A simple expression was derived connecting the spectral radiance of the continuum directly with the temperature and pressure of the arc. The temperature profile of the xenon arc was obtained using this expression and also by applying the Planck-Kirchhoff method to the Abel inverted emission and absorption of an ir xenon line. Both approaches show fair agreement at the arc center. The wavelength dependence of the correction factor for departures from hydrogenic behavior of the xenon continuum was derived from the measured spectral radiances and compared with theoretical calculations.
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Warner & Swasey Company, Control Instrument Division, Flushing, New York 11354, USA.