headlight

[argonsagas]

Originally Posted by argonsagas
The xenon bulbs with light blue coating work best for me.

There is just no way I can argue that point. It certainly does NOT work for me. As I mentioned earlier, I tried some of the "Plasma White" bulbs that had a rather heavy blue tint, and in spite of being 80/100 watt bulbs, I just could not see.

Steve, please read the differences in our respective descriptions....mine says I like the light blue tint, yours says you dislike the heavy blue tint.

Both bulbs are often called plasma white or something similar, but they are not the same.

All incandescent bulbs, including quartz-halogen, use an inert gas that keeps the filament from burning up and all tend to put out a yellow light that can be varied by the intensity of the burn or by adding colour.

When more of any colour is added the resultant light becomes more attuned to that colour, with less of the visible spectrum available as usable light.




The heavy blue tint makes the output considerably more blue, and thus reduces its effectiveness for driving illumination, while the light coating adds some blue to the natural yellow of the filament and this alters/raises the output colour temperature to something closer to daylight, which is more effective than the original yellow.

The total light output from the bulb remains about the same, but its effectiveness is improved.

 

[Steve]

Steve, please read the differences in our respective descriptions....mine says I like the light blue tint, yours says you dislike the heavy blue tint.

Both bulbs are often called plasma white or something similar, but they are not the same.When more of any colour is added the resultant light becomes more attuned to that colour, with less of the visible spectrum available as usable light.

This is quite true. There is a lot of difference between the light and heavy tints, but any tint is going to filter out some light, it's just a matter of how much.

I have been doing quite a bit of night-time riding on the freeway the last few weekends as I have been riding from my sister's house in North Carolina to where I am staying in South Carolina. I have been watching the color of the lights of oncoming cars and those that are passing me. A couple of them have been well into the purple range, I just don't see how they can see anything with them. The lights that are true HID lights will light up the road about as well as my Wing, but the ones with the blue-tinted bulbs (and I don't know how much they are tinted) almost seem to soak up the light from my bike as they pass. I just can't see anything illuminated from their car as they pass, like I can from a car with standard halogens.

I also find it interesting that the halogens are now called "yellow lights" when they were so much whiter than the sealed beams they replaced.

 

[argonsagas]

This is quite true. There is a lot of difference between the light and heavy tints, but any tint is going to filter out some light, it's just a matter of how much.

Agreed. The difference is the effective quality of the light delivered on the road. If the colour is close to daylight human perception is improved over what is seen if it is biased towards either yellow or blue.

The little bit of blue that is added does carry a cost, or loss, but the upgradation in light quality more than offsets this, leaving a plus balance.

These bulbs also usually burn with xenon gas inside, which permits a higher operating temperature (with more light) than standard halogen.

I also find it interesting that the halogens are now called "yellow lights" when they were so much whiter than the sealed beams they replaced.

ALL incandescents produce light that is biased towards the yellow side of the visible spectrum.

When the filament in a bulb first begins to glow it is red, and as more current is pushed though it (higher wattage) thermal heat is raised and the colour of the light emitted by the hot filament moves to orange and then yellow.

This would inevitably result in a burning of the filament, literally, if oxygen were present, so oxygen is evacuated and an inert gas is used, to revent the filament from burning up.

Perhaps you never knew Argon's a gas


A sealed beam is essentially a large bulb with a large filament or two inside it....and it gets hot when lit.

Altering the construction into a removable bulb allows for a more concentrated burn/light source, and a higher output of light without burning the outer containment.

Some alteration is required in the bulb construction, to better handle the high temperature, without burning up.....quartz comes into play at that point as the glass and means of contrsuction used in a common light bulb or sealed beam would not accept that heat and would break down quickly.

With the thermal increase the filament emits more brightness and the colour of the light produced moves closer to white.

A filter is usually added, either through a coating or another lens, to reduce ultra-violet.

You can increase the temperature and brightness by having the filament glow even hotter, by moving to a different gas, such as xenon.

(and yes, I did know someone with that actual name, not a screen name)

 

[Steve]

Perhaps you never knew Argon's a gas

Really??

I thought it was due to long stories by a guy named "Argon", therefore: Argon sagas.

.

 

[Bert Patterson]

I haven?t ridden at night in months. Unfortunately, at the moment I only have high beams. I think the bulb is fine, but the thing it plugs into at some point partly melted and is fairly brittle. I bought a new one, but haven?t installed it yet??..but I have a dream??

 

[argonsagas]

Really??

I thought it was due to long stories by a guy named "Argon", therefore: Argon sagas.

.

Yup. Them is true words, too.

 

[Nessism]

Picked up a twin pack of Sylvania Silverstar 9003's for $11.99 shipped. Hard to beat that... http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260464354970&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT