The Metastable 2p3-State of Mercury Atoms

Abstract

Let us consider a mixture of mercury vapor, thallium vapor and nitrogen in a closed quartz tube under well defined conditions of pressure and temperature, illuminated by λ 2537A of constant intensity. Due to the absorption of the illuminating radiation a constant number N of mercury atoms will be activated in unit time. Those activated atoms persist in the 2p2-state for a finite time t which is known to be of the order of magnitude of 10^-7 sec [1]. If they escape collision during this period they return to their normal state in the ordinary wave-emitting radiation (resonance). They may, however, while activated, collide with nitrogen molecules, normal mercury atoms or normal thallium atoms. We shall assume, for the present, that the amount of nitrogen and thallium sufficiently exceeds the amount of mercury, so that we may disregard totally the collisions between activated and normal mercury atoms. We assume furthermore that all collisions between activated mercury atoms and thallium atoms result in the activation of the latter, producing the fluorescence radiation of thallium with a constant energy distribution between its different lines.

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