Abstract: A discharge lamp of the short arc type including an arc tube and an anode and cathode within the arc tube positioned opposite one another. The present invention includes an anode arrangement in which the temperature increase of the anode in luminous operation is suppressed as much as possible, in which blackening of the inside wall of the arc tube as a result of premature vaporization of the anode material is suppressed, and in which the durability of the above described lamp is prolonged. Specifically, the outer surface of the anode includes sintered layers of fine-particle tungsten adjacent the tip of the anode. In this way, the effective surface area of the anode is increased, the heat radiation from the anode is accelerated, and the premature vaporization of the anode material is suppressed.

Abstract: A mercury lamp of the short arc type with high radiant efficiency which satisfies the demand for an increase of the radiation amount of the light source, by suppressing the motion of the bright spot in the vicinity of the cathode tip suppresses the flickering of the irradiance and thus increases the arc stability, is achieved in a mercury lamp of the short arc type in which within an arc tube mercury and at least one rare gas are encapsulated, by either at least Ar being filled as the rare gas at an filling pressure of from 1 to 8 atm, and by the current density in the tip area of the cathode being 10 to 250 A/mm.sup.2 or alternatively, at least Kr being filled as the rare gas at an filling pressure of from 1 to 8 atm, and the current density in the tip area of the cathode being 10 to 310 A/mm.sup.2 during operation of the lamp.