Before using this demonstration, you must be given additional instructions from Alice Dobie-Galuska on how to connect the discharge tubes and lamps to the power supplies. Students will have to learn to experiment with the grating to be able to view the line spectra. To get a horizontal line spectra the grating my have to be turned 90o, otherwise the spectra will be vertical and not as easy to see. It is not difficult, but the students will need to be given some instruction. Oxygen Argon Hydrogen Helium Nitrogen Krypton Neon Xenon Mercury Show a variety of discharge lamps in class.
Some gases give different colored light that can be viewed without a grating.
These lamps are too small and dim to be able to view the line spectra in even the smaller lecture halls. But the colors are nice to see.