We perform quantitative optical emission spectroscopy on the hot core of the cathode region of a free-burning arc in argon under atmospheric pressure. As the peak temperatures in the centre of the discharge exceed 22 000 K we are able to observe three spectra of argon (Ar I, Ar II and Ar III) and the continuum emission. We report on some inconsistencies concerning the evaluation of Ar III radiation in both line and continuum emission. These are caused by erroneous data in the literature and common misconceptions about the influence of Ar III on the plasma emission. We discuss the impact of this fact on published data
