Title: hollow-cathode lamp
Long Title: IUPAC Gold Book - hollow-cathode lamp
DOI: 10.1351/goldbook.08486
Status: current

Definition
Glow discharge source of spectral lines of an atom in which the cathode is made of the desired element.

Note
It is often referred to as line source, as opposed to a continuum source.

Related Terms
- Glow discharge: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/08481
- continuum source: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/08463
- spectral lines of an atom: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/08550

Source
- PAC, 2021, 93, 647. 'Glossary of methods and terms used in analytical spectroscopy (IUPAC Recommendations 2019)' on page 721 (https://doi.org/10.1515/pac-2019-0203)

Other Outputs
- html: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/08486/html
- json: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/08486/json
- xml: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/08486/xml

Citation: Citation: 'hollow-cathode lamp' in IUPAC Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 5th ed. International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry; 2025. Online version 5.0.0, 2025. 10.1351/goldbook.08486
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Disclaimer: The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) is continuously reviewing and, where needed, updating terms in the Compendium of Chemical Terminology (the IUPAC Gold Book). Users of these terms are encouraged to include the version of a term with its use and to check regularly for updates to term definitions that you are using.
Accessed: 2026-08-04T04:36:35+00:00