Image: Fused silica phosphorescence from a 24 million watt flash

Description: This photo was taken 30 seconds after a 24 million watt discharge, (85 joules/3.5 microseconds), through a quartz glass (fused silica) flashtube measuring 10 mm inside diameter by 150 mm arc length. The discharge dumped about half a million watts per square centimeter of internal surface area through the tube. The arc temperature of approximately 17,000 Kelvin produced an output centered at 170 nanometers, in the far ultraviolet. Some of this energy was absorbed by the quartz, and is reemitted as blue phosphorescence. The phosphorescence of the quartz is strongest near the trigger wire, which is wrapped along the length of the lamp, where the arc maintained contact with the glass, (due to the use of external triggering at high speeds). The blue afterglow faded slowly away over the course of 20 minutes.
Title: Fused silica phosphorescence from a 24 million watt flash
Credit: I (Zaereth (talk)) created this work entirely by myself.
Author: Zaereth (talk)
Usage Terms: Public domain
License: PD
Attribution Required?: No