doughere wrote:
LarryJM wrote:
pconroy328 wrote:
GordonThree wrote:
red and yellow actually throw off your night vision... your eyes try to engage the color receptors or something like that.
blue on the other hand does not
downside to blue, it can interfere with your circadian rhythm
Really?
All those years I spent in a darkroom and with my telescope.
Also my 20 years in the military and all the aviators would take exception to the red is bad.
Larry
The old fleet boat I was on back during my mis-spent youth did just fine with red light.
I think you will find that blue light is the worst night light as it will totally destroy your circadian rhythm.
Doug
Having had a great deal of experience with this, and being very well versed as an active astronomer and dark skies advocate, if you must see detail while preserving night adapted vision (reading a star chart, navigational chart, or instrument settings) then a very long wavelength red (564nm or longer)at a very low level is best. But, red really only has an advantage at very low levels.
Rhodopsin is the photoreceptor protein in night vision cells (rods). Rhodopsin in the rods is insensitive to the longer red wavelengths (564nm or longer), which is why we traditionally use red light to help preserve night adapted vision. Red light very slowly depletes the rhodopsin stored in the rods and virtually does not deplete it at low light levels. The red from a long wavelength red light source is instead viewed by the red sensitive cone cells, which allows us to see such things as star charts and maps, while preserving the rhodopsin and sensitivity of the rods for night vision when we look away from the light source.
As for us, since the primary use of our RV's has been as mobile observatories at remote dark sky sites, they've always been modified with red "rig for night" lighting.
Our old motorhome (Coachmen Class-C) had overhead fixtures with two bulbs each, which could be turned on individually with a three position switch. I put one Red LED bulb in each fixture for red "night adapted vision" lighting at star parties. The new RV has two bulbs per fixture, but they can't be turned on Individually. It's all or nothing.
So...I'm installing one each of these in the bedroom and bathroom and two in the dining/living room. The light in the fridge gets disabled and a little battery operated red LED "hockey puck" of light gets put in there. I may also put red LED bulbs (removed from the old RV) in a few of the directional reading lights located throughout the rig as well.
Innovative Lighting Adjustable Bunk Light Red LED White Case
Don't get me started on the adverse health effects of blue/white light unless you have a lot of time. Did you know, that there are cells on your forehead, that can still detect blue/white light even when your eyes are closed thus preventing melatonin production? The health affects of a lack of melatonin production, from disrupted circadian rhythms, to suppressed immune response, to the proliferation of cancer well documented. But...don't get me started.
