BEHAVIOR O F MERCURY VAPOR UPON IRRADIATION BY A MERCURY LAMP IN AN INERT GAS K E Y WORDS: m e r c u r y vapor, m e r c u r y lamp, irradiation, i n e r t gas, quartz tube, t h e r m o s t a t ABSTRACT The behavior of m e r c u r y vapor during irradiation by a m e r c u r y Using the flameless atomic absorption technique lamp i s investigated. for m e r c u r y determination, i t was found that when m e r c u r y vapor in an i n e r t gas i s i r r a d i a t e d by a m e r c u r y lamp, the atomic absorption signal of m e r c u r y i s d e c r e a s e d rapidly and the signal m a y be r e s t o r e d by heating to 7OoC. vapor i n the quartz tube a r e deposited on the tube, and a r e dissociated into the monoatomic s t a t e of m e r c u r y upon heating. These phenomena indicate that the irradiation products of m e r c u r y INTRODUCTION