How might you distinguish a sodium-vapor street lamp from a mercury-vapor street lamp?
A)use binoculars to look for printing adjacent to the bulb
B)look at the street lamps through a spectroscope and match their spectral patterns to their respective atomic spectra
C)ask your local utility company to identify these lamps for you
D)The shadows cast from a sodium-vapor street lamp tend to be more diffuse around the edges.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The best way to distinguish between a sodium-vapor street lamp and a mercury-vapor street lamp is by looking at their spectral patterns. This can be done using a spectroscope, which will match the patterns to the respective atomic spectra for each type of lamp.

How Might You Distinguish a Sodium-Vapor Street Lamp from a Mercury-Vapor