Originally Posted by JHM2K
This is what I was trying to say earlier...
Perhaps this is why I can see better with them... More light is not necessarily the best light if more light results in a blinding light instead of a dimmer light that still illuminates the road.
Regarding the filter comments, that makes perfect sense. Having said that, with these lights, isn't it the intensity of the Kelvin rating, not a filter, that gives the light its hue? 8000K HID kits are almost purple, but not because there's a purple filter. 6000K is a bright bluish-white, 5000K being a true white. It was my understanding that the lower the Kelvins, the yellower the light. The higher, the more blue/violet.
But I may be completely confused. Not at all unlikely.
Yup! it is held that due to reflection of over emitance of light in fog people could experience reduced visiblity.
The filter comments were regarding filters in general
, not HIDs. I was just explaining how the absorption of visible light doesnt really vary from person to person, and that the guys with the yellow glasses are receiving less light than the guy with clear glasses. Which may be why they wear them in all truth! (UV/IR can be filtered out using clear glasses since they are not visible spectrums)...
But you are right. HIDS are classified based on their Kelvin rating. I dont know why, but previously was thinking that they are Black-body radiators, they are not. But I'll save you and me both the confusion and just talk about the functions of HIDs.
Now stick with me, because this part gets a bit sketchy.. According to my knowledge and understanding (yikes!)... HIDs are filled with varying types of gasses (usually noble gasses). When you send an electrical impulse through these gasses, you heat and excite the electrons within in them, causing them to colide with other gas and metal atoms. When this occurs, electrons from a lower energy state rise to a high energy state. They then fall back to a lower energy state again but release a photon. The wavelength is dependent on atomic structure... This is why you see different colors with different lamps...
This indeed does relate to the temperature of the lamp (aka 6500k or w/e) in relation to the previously mentioned Black Body Radiators. Black body radiators emit light according to the temperature at which they occur (a match would be 1700k). Therefore, black body radiators basically have their own spectrum based on temperature. Many lights, such as HIDs, are Color Correlated to these temperature. Meaning that the wavelengths are the same, and so they are labeled as such and such temp (10000k is blue for black body radiators, so HIDs that produce blue are correlated to 10000k).
I dont believe they are considered black body radiators because they use gas atomic structure, and therefore do not classify.