Searchlight

For other uses, see Searchlight (disambiguation).
ATS officers-in-training crew a 90 cm searchlight in Western Command, 1944

A searchlight (or spotlight) is an apparatus that combines an extremely bright source (traditionally a carbon arc lamp) with a mirrored parabolic reflector to project a powerful beam of light of approximately parallel rays in a particular direction. It is usually constructed so that it can be swiveled about. The most common element used in modern searchlights is Xenon (Xe).[1] However, Rare-earth elements such as lanthanum (La) and cerium (Ce) are used in phosphors to improve light quality in some specialized searchlights.[2]

  1. ^ Rehmet, M. (1980). "Xenon lamps". IEE Proceedings. 127 (3): 190–195. doi:10.1049/ip-a-1.1980.0030. ISSN 0143-702X.
  2. ^ Lowen, Eric. "What Are the Lanthanide Series?". Stanford Advanced Materials. Retrieved Sep 9, 2024.