text: Because of sputtering occurring at the cathode, the colors emitted from regions near the cathode are quite different from the anode.  Particles sputtered from the cathode are excited and emit radiation from the metals and oxides that make up the cathode.  The radiation from these particles combines with radiation from excited carrier gas, giving the cathode region a white or blue color, while in the rest of the tube, radiation is only from the carrier gas and tends to be more monochromatic.
  Electrons near the cathode are less energetic than the rest of the tube. Surrounding the cathode is a negative field, which slows electrons as they are ejected from the surface. Only those electrons with the highest velocity are able to escape this field, and those without enough kinetic energy are pulled back into the cathode. Once outside the negative field, the attraction from the positive field begins to accelerate these electrons toward the anode. During this acceleration electrons are deflected and slowed down by positive ions speeding toward the cathode, which, in turn, produces bright blue-white bremsstrahlung radiation in the negative glow region.