That's so cool! What are the physical implications of smooth versus jagged distributions? For example, incandescent versus fluorescent? Is there a reason why fluorescent has such tall spikes around green and orange wavelengths?
KevinXu02
Since invisible light also contributes energy, would the estimation of radiance change as a result? Considering that light of different wavelengths has different physical properties (refraction, diffraction), would these properties also be considered in the model?
jayc809
Perhaps not super related to lecture, but I believe that there may be some relationship between the energy spectral distribution and efficiency, in terms of power consumption and output. For example, we know that incandescent / old light bulbs are not efficient at producing light since a lot of energy is wasted as heat and low energy red light / infrared. On the other hand, LEDs were invented to efficiently produce light, and we can see the spectrum peak at bluer wavelengths. It is interesting be able to kinda see the course of history from these distributions.
christyquang
@jnzhao3 I was also curious about the differences between the spectral power distributions so I looked into it a bit more. I discovered that incandescent lights emit light by heating a filament until it glows, which is why their spectral power distribution typically follows a smooth, continuous curve. On the other hand, fluorescent lights have a spiky power distribution because they produce light through the excitation of mercury vapor and phosphors coated on the inside of the lamp. This causes the spikes around green and orange wavelengths because of the specific phosphors used. Manufacturers often choose specific phosphors so lamps can appear brighter/vibrant.
AlsonC
Wow! Never knew that invisible light also contributed energy. Is this a similar affect to how we can't see uv rays but we can still get sunburnt/skin cancer?
weinatalie
I noticed that while the shapes of distributions varied between different types of light, the colors and corresponding wavelengths were the same throughout. This led me to wonder about the relation between these energy distributions and how we might perceive color in daily life. For example, mixing blue and yellow creates green, which lies within the wavelength range of the two colors in an energy distribution. But when we mix red and blue, we get purple, which does not lie within the range of red and blue. I discovered that purple is a non-spectral color that our eyes perceive when we see red and blue mixed together; however, it’s separate from violet, the color that light at the respective wavelength would actually be.
Refangs
I think it's really interesting how there is a difference the distribution of light wavelengths for white LEDs based on temperature. The Cool White LEDs have more of lower wavelengths and the Warm White LEDs have more of higher wavelengths. Maybe this has something to do with cooler <=> less energy and heat <=> more energy? This may be super wrong lol
That's so cool! What are the physical implications of smooth versus jagged distributions? For example, incandescent versus fluorescent? Is there a reason why fluorescent has such tall spikes around green and orange wavelengths?
Since invisible light also contributes energy, would the estimation of radiance change as a result? Considering that light of different wavelengths has different physical properties (refraction, diffraction), would these properties also be considered in the model?
Perhaps not super related to lecture, but I believe that there may be some relationship between the energy spectral distribution and efficiency, in terms of power consumption and output. For example, we know that incandescent / old light bulbs are not efficient at producing light since a lot of energy is wasted as heat and low energy red light / infrared. On the other hand, LEDs were invented to efficiently produce light, and we can see the spectrum peak at bluer wavelengths. It is interesting be able to kinda see the course of history from these distributions.
@jnzhao3 I was also curious about the differences between the spectral power distributions so I looked into it a bit more. I discovered that incandescent lights emit light by heating a filament until it glows, which is why their spectral power distribution typically follows a smooth, continuous curve. On the other hand, fluorescent lights have a spiky power distribution because they produce light through the excitation of mercury vapor and phosphors coated on the inside of the lamp. This causes the spikes around green and orange wavelengths because of the specific phosphors used. Manufacturers often choose specific phosphors so lamps can appear brighter/vibrant.
Wow! Never knew that invisible light also contributed energy. Is this a similar affect to how we can't see uv rays but we can still get sunburnt/skin cancer?
I noticed that while the shapes of distributions varied between different types of light, the colors and corresponding wavelengths were the same throughout. This led me to wonder about the relation between these energy distributions and how we might perceive color in daily life. For example, mixing blue and yellow creates green, which lies within the wavelength range of the two colors in an energy distribution. But when we mix red and blue, we get purple, which does not lie within the range of red and blue. I discovered that purple is a non-spectral color that our eyes perceive when we see red and blue mixed together; however, it’s separate from violet, the color that light at the respective wavelength would actually be.
I think it's really interesting how there is a difference the distribution of light wavelengths for white LEDs based on temperature. The Cool White LEDs have more of lower wavelengths and the Warm White LEDs have more of higher wavelengths. Maybe this has something to do with cooler <=> less energy and heat <=> more energy? This may be super wrong lol