Pulsed high-pressure sodium discharge lamps were investigated by the voltage noise method. The abrupt disappearance of the high-frequency noise of the burning voltage indicated a transition from the vapour arc mode to the thermionic arc mode 100-500 pulses after igniting the lamp. The mass loss of electrode material during one start-up was estimated to be in the same order of magnitude as in the case of a conventional inductive ballast. Under the given conditions, the electrodes worked in a pure thermionic mode when the lamp had reached its final state, providing a sufficient lamp lifetime.
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