Street lamps, colour

The lamp above is more properly called a low-pressure sodium lamp. Such lamps are ideal for street and road illumination, but the monochromatic nature of the emission makes seeing in colour impossible. An adaptation which emits a range of colours is the high-pressure sodium-vapour lamp, which is similar to that described above but contains a mixture of mercury and sodium. Such lamps emit a whiter light and are useful for extra-bright lighting in places such as road intersections, car parks and sports stadia. 

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