RE: Ion blue lights - a test report

["Buchholz, Steven" <Steven.Buchholz@kla-tencor.com>]

> I had exactly the same opinion as the author below. Just another
> passing
> automotive fad and nothing more. Then I tried them in the 85 ur-q.
> "Blue Ion"
> H4s in 80/100, exactly the same wattage as the bulbs that were in
> there.
> Well, surprise - surprise! They really work! In use they do not appear
> to be
> blue to the driver. They appear to be a hotter, whiter-white than are
> standard
> halogen bulbs. Everything regardless of color appears to be much more
> visible and overall contrast is vastly improved. The difference
> between the
> "Blue Ion" and conventional halogens is as big or bigger than is the
> difference
> between conventional halogens and the old conventional tungsten
> filament
> incandescent lamps. The conventional 100W halogen high-beams' light
> appears 
> to be orange/red in color next to the very hot, white/blue "Blue Ion"
> light.
> What a difference! I would never have believed it without testing them
> myself.
> Get used to seeing these lights around - they just plain work. The
> awesome
> photometrics of the Euro Hella H1/H4 lenses is also a factor here, I
> would not
> expect such spectacular results with, say, stock US-spec 4K or 5K
> lenses.
> 
This sounds much like the addition of "blueing" to wash water, which
makes clothes appear to be brighter.  My concern is that strangely
enough the human eye is less able to focus with blue light ...
especially aging males (such as me).  I wonder if any studies have been
done to demonstrate that things are actually more easily seen with the
different spectrum, or if there is simply a perception that they are.
My gut feeling is that if the  lamp is simply filtering the normal
incandescent spectrum, then there is simply that much less light energy
to reflect off of things.  

I still have to say that IMO these blue colored lights are an excessive
distraction to me.  Since blue lights are currently used by REOs (AKA
revenooers) to indicate hazards (or whatever) they shouldn't be allowed
for headlights ... especially the ones that change their spectral
characteristics based on angular displacement.  

Steve Buchholz
San Jose, CA (USA)