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UltravioletPhotography

Arc lighter in UV


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Browsing ebay the other day I came across something called an Arc lighter. This generates an air plasma between its electrodes as an alternative to a traditional fluid based lighter. As it didn't cost much I thought I'd get one and see what the emission spectra was like.

 

Here's the lighter, without and with being lit.

 

post-148-0-74254900-1596626393.jpg

 

post-148-0-53106100-1596626398.jpg

 

When I put my cosine correcter terminated optical fiber close to it (very close, about 5mm) I just about managed to get the irradiance spectra;

 

post-148-0-36294900-1596626400.jpg

 

Very similar to what I'd expect for an air plasma which was good to see, but really not very bright.

 

Also took some pictures of it in UV, using the ACS converted Nikon d810 (similar response to Baader U), and Rayfact 105mm UV lens. Whitebalanced in Darktable, and cropped from originals. Couple of different exposures.

 

Longer exposure (ISO1000, 6s, f16).

post-148-0-56369600-1596626550.jpg

 

Short exposure (ISO1000, 1/2s f16)

post-148-0-58998600-1596626553.jpg

 

Obviously with the longer exposure the emission over saturates and goes white, but you can see it illuminating the lighter a bit. At the shorter exposure, the 2 back electrodes are behaving differently to the other 2. I can just about see a hint of yellow in the bulk of the plasma, which make sense given the large emission peak in the 340nm region.

 

Overall not the brightest little UV source (I wont be replacing my Xenon flashes any time soon), but an interesting little device. Part of me wonders whether it shocks like a taser, but I currently have no plans for putting my fingers on the electrodes to try it.....

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I wonder what volts & amps are involved here ?

Maybe 20-30 kV (assuming a 1 cm gap) and probably a lot of current for a short period of time. The average current is probably very low.
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I have long wanted to try lightning photography at night in UV. This could at least be considered a proof of concept--there would indeed be UV to record.
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I have long wanted to try lightning photography at night in UV. This could at least be considered a proof of concept--there would indeed be UV to record.

 

I think a 365nm led flashlight would be much brighter, safer and more ideal than a literal torch for lighting.

 

Jonathan,

Very cool. This could help in building a vaporized iodine lamp that I have always wanted. That way I can get a 207nm line.

I might consider something like this.

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