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Item #P2-9900-01
Spectroscopy
NexGen Spectrum Tube, Air
$48.00
Bundle Discount
| Unit Price | $48.00 |
| 6+ | $44.20 |
Reveal the emission spectrum of everyday air
The NexGen Spectrum Tube, Air is a gas discharge tube filled with atmospheric air for use with the NexGen Spectrum Tube Power Supply. When energized, it produces a pinkish-white glow. Running that light through a spectroscope or diffraction grating reveals a composite spectrum from the nitrogen and oxygen molecules that make up most of what we breathe, dozens of lines and bands spread across the visible range.
Air's spectrum is a mix of molecular band emissions from nitrogen (about 78%) and oxygen (about 21%), which produces a very different pattern from the sharp, discrete lines of noble gas tubes. That contrast is the key teaching moment. Students comparing the air tube side by side with an argon or neon tube immediately see why different materials produce different spectral fingerprints, and why identifying a gas from its spectrum is possible in the first place.
Why Teachers Love It
A Natural Bridge Between the Lab and the Atmosphere – The same gases filling this tube fill the room. Students make a direct connection between the emission spectrum they measure and the physics of Earth's own atmosphere, and can discuss auroras, airglow, and the composition of other planets in the same conversation.
Built for Long-Term Classroom Use – No internal electrodes means the tube resists the wear that shortens conventional spectrum tube life. A hard polymer shell protects the glass from everyday bumps and drops.
Continuous Use with the NexGen Power Supply – No timing restrictions. Students read spectral features at their own pace without a 30-second on/off cycle, so labs run on the students' schedule, not the equipment's.
Product Details
What You Can Teach with the NexGen Spectrum Tube, Air
Grades 6–8 (Middle School)
- What makes air glow when a high voltage passes through it
- Identifying nitrogen and oxygen as the dominant components of air using their spectral contributions
- Why a gas discharge tube produces light: excited electrons releasing energy as photons when they fall to lower energy levels
- Why a mixture of gases produces a combined spectrum rather than one pure color
High School Physics
- Emission spectroscopy and the spectral fingerprint concept: each element emits specific wavelengths
- Comparing air's complex molecular band spectrum to the clean line spectra of noble gases
- Using a diffraction grating or spectroscope to observe and record spectral features from nitrogen and oxygen
- Connecting gas discharge emission to the mechanism behind fluorescent lamps, gas signs, and atmospheric glow phenomena
Products being sold are not toys. They are for Educational / Laboratory use only. They are not for use by children 12 and under.
Product Specifications
Specs:
Tube length: approximately 15.5 cm
Shell: Hard polymer
Compatible with: NexGen Spectrum Tube Power Supply (P2-9910)
What's Included:
1 x Air Spectrum Tube
Note: NexGen Spectrum Tube Power Supply (P2-9910) required, sold separately.
FAQ
No specifications available.
Warning: California Residents
WARNING: Cancer & Reproductive Harm — www.P65Warnings.ca.gov
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