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Medium pressure mercury lamps having hardglass arc tubes were produced in the former Soviet Union by the Moscow Electric Lamp Plant (MELZ). They were classified as ИГАР (Интенсивная Газосветиая Аргоиио-Ртутная), in English IGAR (Intensive Gas-discharge lamp with Argon & Mercury). The largest model was this ИГАР-2 of 500W, joined by the smaller ИГАР-3 400W and ИГАР-4 250W ratings. There was also an earlier ИГАР-1 500W actinic lamp with bare arctube.
The Soviet design has a number of differences vs Western lamps. Most notable is the unusually low luminous efficacy - this 500W rating delivering fewer lumens than the foreign 400W types. It is suspected that the reason may be due to a difference in the type of glass used for the arc tube. Foreign lamps employ high softening temperature aluminosilicate glasses, and over the years the glass was made progessively harder which permitted hotter operation - the resulting increase in mercury vapour pressure leading to increased efficacy. This Russian lamp is characterised by an unusually long discharge tube and quite low power density, which may have been required if it is made from a lower softening temperature glass, such as ordinary borosilicate.
The electrodes take the form of open coiled-coils, coated with an emissive oxide. The feedthroughs are unusually sleeved in small glass tubes. The emitter material appears to be different than on Western lamps. During run-up it is normal for tiny particles of emitter to become dislodged, and if these fall into the arc they become ionised. Most MA lamps show a pinkish colour flare when this happens, but this Soviet lamp produces an unusual deep violet colour flash, as illustrated in the third illuminated photograph. |