Probably the oldest pigment used in human history is lamp black. This soft, brownish black pigment is formed by burning soot and other highly carbonaceous materials. It is used in cement, shoe polishes, paper, and crayons. It also has applications in art, where it is mixed with siccative pigments, as well as a variety of other mediums.
Lamp black is produced from a process of incomplete combustion of highly carbonaceous materials such as coal-tar, paraffin, and fatty oil. Its particle size is small and brittle, so it is used for art applications. It can be used with good results in all mediums. It can be prepared by distilling soot from burned tar, or it can be prepared in special processes.
Incandescent lamps, also called Wood’s lamps, produce a small amount of black light. The halogen types produce slightly more, while the fluorescent types produce almost no black light. They are typically made in power ratings of 100 to 1,000 watts. They are used for theatrical, scientific, and disinfection applications.
Other types of ultraviolet lamps produce visible light. They can be found in bug zapper flying insect traps, and are used in some air conditioning systems. They are also used to detect leaking parts in refrigeration systems. These lamps are also used to observe fluorescence.
Black lights are also used in theatrical productions, as decorations that fluoresce under the light. For example, the cast of a musical theater performer may be arranged to fluoresce under the lamp. They are also used in several art forms, such as the use of fluorescent posters to make a glowing message. They are also used to attract insects. They are also used in amusement parks, where they are used to make invisible hand stamps.
Another type of black light is a special fluorescent lamp. These lamps contain a phosphor coating that absorbs harmful UV-B and UV-C light. They are designed to be used in bug zapper flying insect traps. They also have a violet filter material that blocks the most visible light. This is called the “blacklight blue” or “BLB” color in the lighting industry.
A third type of black light is made with a fluorescent bulb with a different phosphor coating. The glass of the bulb absorbs most of the light, but the violet filter material allows only the benign long-wave UV-A light to pass through. It has a 370 nm peak and a secondary peak of 404 nm. This gives the lamp a violet glow when it is operating, but does not emit any ultraviolet light.
Another type of black light is the high power mercury vapor lamp. It uses the spectral line of mercury at 350 to 375 nm. The energy of this photon is kilojoules, which is the same energy that is released from an incandescent lamp. When an electron from the mercury atom reaches a higher energy level, it causes the phosphor atom to vibrate, which releases energy in the form of a photon.
