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UV headlights

Headlights that use UV
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Forgive me if someone else has come up with this idea before but this has been stuck in my head since i discussed it with my cousin several years ago.

Wouldnt it be a good idea to incorporate UV into headlights making white more visable. This wouldnt affect the normal headlight beam of the car so there would still be the scope of visability.

Im sure most of use have seen UV in action within a seedy nightclub and the affect it has on white objects.

The UV lights could be used as fog lights so the road markings could be seen more clearly. Signposts, barriers and kerbs could be painted specifically to be noticed more by the UV light therefore helping drivers in bad visability.

ginge, Jul 27 2001

(?) UV Headlights http://www.aip.org/...nce/scripts/123.htm
An article about this idea. [Aristotle, Jul 27 2001, last modified Oct 04 2004]

10,000 watt halogen "Pathstalkers" http://www.redmeat....99-09-20/index.html
[egnor, Jul 27 2001, last modified Oct 04 2004]

[link]






       This research was in 1999, I was discussing this idea with my cousin back in the late 80's. Cant be a bad idea if they've got scientists working on it !!
ginge, Jul 27 2001
  

       Yeah! And you could get a really good tan just by driving into heavy traffic at night!
key-aero, Jul 27 2001
  

       I believe also that there are night vision systems like this in production cars.
Aristotle, Jul 27 2001
  

       [sp: visible, visibility]   

       UV doesn't have an effect on white objects, it has an effect on UV-fluorescent objects. That is, there are some surfaces that reflect UV light in the visible spectrum, and others that don't, but that doesn't have anything to do with their color in the visible spectrum.
jutta, Jul 27 2001
  

       ...and it lights up white clothing in nightclubs because the white fabrics are produced with UV fluorescent materials included, so that in light the UV light is emitted as visible light, so they appear extra bright. Some detergents also add these materials to your clothes for the same reason.
beauxeault, Jul 27 2001
  

       The detergent companies added the phosphenes (think that's the right word) to get the effect of making "your whites whiter than white".
-alx, Jul 27 2001
  

       Folks with black ligths in college used to put laundry detergent all over their walls. I imagine that was a lot of fun for the cleaning staff at the end of the year.
EvoketheTiger, Jul 27 2001
  
      
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