Discharge lamps need a high-voltage pulse to strike the arc, after which they warm up over several minutes to full output and color. A hot HID lamp that loses power cannot restrike until it cools enough for the pressure to drop, typically 5 to 15 minutes, unless it has a special instant-restrike igniter. In theaters, strike also means to dismantle and remove a set or rig after the run.
Arena lamps take ten minutes to strike and come up to color, so turn them on before the doors, not at the national anthem.
Also heard as
- ignition
Related terms
HID
High-Intensity Discharge: lamps such as metal halide and high-pressure sodium that make light from an electric arc in a pressurized tube.
Ballast
The device that starts and limits current to fluorescent and HID lamps, which would otherwise draw unlimited current.
Followspot
A powerful, manually aimed spotlight that an operator keeps on a moving performer throughout a scene.