sodium-vapor lamp
- noun
- /ˈsoʊdiəm ˈveɪpər læmp/
- Specialized
:
lámpara de vapor de sodio
- Sodium vapor lamps "burn" longer and brighter than conventional incandescent bulbs of the same wattage.
Examples
-
A sodium-vapor lamp, for example, gives off line emission at a particular set of wavelengths, mostly corresponding to yellow light.
Academic text (1996) -
The city installed a new sodium-vapor lamp on the main street to improve night visibility.
-
But then turn on the sodium vapor lamp and you can see the black plasma.
-
At night, the sodium-vapor lamp casts a bright yellow light, illuminating the entire parking lot.
-
Many modern streetlights use a sodium-vapor lamp due to its energy efficiency and long lifespan.
Synonyms
1
1.7
A light that uses electricity to shine
1
6.7
A lamp that makes light when electricity passes between two metal points inside a gas
A lamp that makes light by passing electricity between two metal parts inside a glass tube
A lamp that makes light when electricity passes through gas in a glass tube
How Bright
15
3.9
9
3.4
- Specialized
3
1.0
451
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
sodium-vapor + lamp
The compound is fully compositional: 'sodium' (the element) + 'vapor' (gas) + 'lamp' yields a lamp that uses sodium vapor to produce light. Although somewhat technical, the noun structure follows regular English compounding patterns, so a learner who knows the constituent words can infer the meaning.
Etymology
Sodium-vapor lamp is named for what it contains: sodium turned into vapor inside a lamp. When electricity passes through that vapor it makes a strong yellow glow, so the name tells you this kind of streetlight gives 'yellow light'.