square fog lights
10-28-2014, 10:17 PM
#21
One Clean Machine
iTrader: (5)
I know this one and others have proven that yellow fogs don't really cut through fog any better its more how our eyes perceive the colors.
But in a totally non scientific study my FX4 has 3000k hid fogs and my '12 Lariat has 5000k hid fogs and to me and my 47 year old eyes the 3000k bulbs seem to be easier to see.
It is probably a false sense I am getting and since I am a retired State Police Officer I really slow down according to weather conditions anyhow but I do prefer the 3000k.
But in a totally non scientific study my FX4 has 3000k hid fogs and my '12 Lariat has 5000k hid fogs and to me and my 47 year old eyes the 3000k bulbs seem to be easier to see.
It is probably a false sense I am getting and since I am a retired State Police Officer I really slow down according to weather conditions anyhow but I do prefer the 3000k.
Its not just your eyes, 3000k gives much more visiblility to the driver in Rainy/Foggy weather!
10-28-2014, 10:22 PM
#22
Senior Member
I feel that way to but it seems it has been proven false as quoted:
"There are several scientific studies out there that say it is an old wives' tale that yellow fog lights give you greater visibility over white or blue ones. Many of the studies are from coastal and mountainous regions of North America and Europe where fog is much more prevalent. The premise of the wives' tale, that yellow light waves are long enough to pass through water particles without reflecting back to the light source, is based on a misinterpretation of Lord Rayleigh's principle of light scattering (search for "Rayleigh scattering" or "why is the sky blue").
As it turns out in all the published studies, the water particles in fog and road mist are entirely too large to not reflect light waves back toward fog lights, be they yellow, white, blue or even green. The studies show any fog light that is properly mounted and aimed is effective, as the reflective angle of larger water droplets tends to be directed back toward the source of light than scattered away. The idea being that an effective fog lamp has to be a low mounted, wide dispersion light that gets as far under fog and mist as possible, so as not to be directed back toward the driver's eyes. This is why driving in fog with your high beams on is a bad idea - i.e., the reflective angle of your headlights/high beams is too close to the same elevation as your eyes to not be reflected back to you, thus blinding you with reflective glare.
So, why do yellow fog lamps seem to work better? It's because of the way the human eye interacts with different colors of light. Blue and violet are very difficult for the human optical system to process correctly. They are the shortest visible wavelengths and tend to focus in front of our eyes' retina, rather than on it. The further a light gets from the red end of the color spectrum, the bluer it gets. See any HID color temperature chart for proof"
10-29-2014, 08:56 AM
#23
Senior Member
I feel that way to but it seems it has been proven false as quoted:
"There are several scientific studies out there that say it is an old wives' tale that yellow fog lights give you greater visibility over white or blue ones. Many of the studies are from coastal and mountainous regions of North America and Europe where fog is much more prevalent. The premise of the wives' tale, that yellow light waves are long enough to pass through water particles without reflecting back to the light source, is based on a misinterpretation of Lord Rayleigh's principle of light scattering (search for "Rayleigh scattering" or "why is the sky blue").
As it turns out in all the published studies, the water particles in fog and road mist are entirely too large to not reflect light waves back toward fog lights, be they yellow, white, blue or even green. The studies show any fog light that is properly mounted and aimed is effective, as the reflective angle of larger water droplets tends to be directed back toward the source of light than scattered away. The idea being that an effective fog lamp has to be a low mounted, wide dispersion light that gets as far under fog and mist as possible, so as not to be directed back toward the driver's eyes. This is why driving in fog with your high beams on is a bad idea - i.e., the reflective angle of your headlights/high beams is too close to the same elevation as your eyes to not be reflected back to you, thus blinding you with reflective glare.
So, why do yellow fog lamps seem to work better? It's because of the way the human eye interacts with different colors of light. Blue and violet are very difficult for the human optical system to process correctly. They are the shortest visible wavelengths and tend to focus in front of our eyes' retina, rather than on it. The further a light gets from the red end of the color spectrum, the bluer it gets. See any HID color temperature chart for proof"
"There are several scientific studies out there that say it is an old wives' tale that yellow fog lights give you greater visibility over white or blue ones. Many of the studies are from coastal and mountainous regions of North America and Europe where fog is much more prevalent. The premise of the wives' tale, that yellow light waves are long enough to pass through water particles without reflecting back to the light source, is based on a misinterpretation of Lord Rayleigh's principle of light scattering (search for "Rayleigh scattering" or "why is the sky blue").
As it turns out in all the published studies, the water particles in fog and road mist are entirely too large to not reflect light waves back toward fog lights, be they yellow, white, blue or even green. The studies show any fog light that is properly mounted and aimed is effective, as the reflective angle of larger water droplets tends to be directed back toward the source of light than scattered away. The idea being that an effective fog lamp has to be a low mounted, wide dispersion light that gets as far under fog and mist as possible, so as not to be directed back toward the driver's eyes. This is why driving in fog with your high beams on is a bad idea - i.e., the reflective angle of your headlights/high beams is too close to the same elevation as your eyes to not be reflected back to you, thus blinding you with reflective glare.
So, why do yellow fog lamps seem to work better? It's because of the way the human eye interacts with different colors of light. Blue and violet are very difficult for the human optical system to process correctly. They are the shortest visible wavelengths and tend to focus in front of our eyes' retina, rather than on it. The further a light gets from the red end of the color spectrum, the bluer it gets. See any HID color temperature chart for proof"
Thanks