[6.5] A lamp in which light (or radiant energy near the visible spectrum) is produced by the passage of an electric current through a vapor or a gas.
Note: Electric-discharge lamps may be named after the filling gas or vapor that is responsible for the major portion of the radiation; e.g., mercury lamps, sodium lamps, neon lamps, and argon lamps. A second method of designating electric-discharge lamps is by physical dimensions or operating parameters; e.g., short-arc lamps, high-pressure lamps, and low-pressure lamps. A third method of designating electric-discharge lamps is by their application; in addition to lamps for illumination there are photochemical lamps, bactericidal lamps, blacklight lamps, sun lamps, and others.
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