This might sound stupid.

sputniknz

sputniknz

Active Member
Ok, lights. Some have the right spectrum some dont. Some are best some are good some are just plain bad.

Why? oh... they dont emit the right wavelength. Or, too much blue not enough red. Or too much red not enough blue etc.

Well, If i had a cfl bulb which is good for blue and no hps, and here's the silly part, why cant i reflect light of a coloured surface???

For example, to increase red use red paint on walls, to increase blue use blue paint?

This is probably a dumb question.
 
ExDex1x1

ExDex1x1

Active Member
You can't alter the wavelengths of light emitted by a bulb by reflecting off a colored surface. When light reflects off a colored surface, the wavelengths generated by the light are absorbed by the surface and the remainder are reflected off. For instance when you reflect white light off of a red surface, the red spectrum is partially absorbed by the surface, the remainder is reflected off, all you have done is reduce the amount of red light that is being reflected, it hasn't altered the color temperature of the light rays themselves, it's just removed some of what was already there.

If your light isn't generating red light to begin with it will never create red light regardless of what you reflect it off of.

Unless you're good at magic or alchemy, then by all means go ahead and create red light :lol:
 
ChubbySoap

ChubbySoap

Well-Known Member
not at all.
The first step is to simply ask.

http://science.howstuffworks.com/light.htm
this is packed with stuff for you...it may help answer questions.

light diminishes approximately with the square of the distance for a single bulb, which means that if your double the distance to the plant, you only get 1/4 the light...this is why schemes dealing with reflection never pan out well...and why so many harp to keep the lights close.
this in no way actually answers your questions, i know...but it should help a little...
 
Serapis

Serapis

Well-Known Member
ExDex1x1 said:
You can't alter the wavelengths of light emitted by a bulb by reflecting off a colored surface. When light reflects off a colored surface, the wavelengths generated by the light are absorbed by the surface and the remainder are reflected off. For instance when you reflect white light off of a red surface, the red spectrum is partially absorbed by the surface, the remainder is reflected off, all you have done is reduce the amount of red light that is being reflected, it hasn't altered the color temperature of the light rays themselves, it's just removed some of what was already there.

If your light isn't generating red light to begin with it will never create red light regardless of what you reflect it off of.

Unless you're good at magic or alchemy, then by all means go ahead and create red light :lol:
Click to expand...
You actually have that backwards. The reason the eye perceives a red wall in your example is because all other colors are absorbed and red spectrum is bounced, or reflected.

A better answer would be that those colors absorb light and the intensity of the reflected light would need to be magnified many times to bring up the lumen to where the plant could benefit. It would be more efficient to provide the proper spectrum in the first place.
 
ExDex1x1

ExDex1x1

Active Member
Serapis said:
You actually have that backwards. The reason the eye perceives a red wall in your example is because all other colors are absorbed and red spectrum is bounced, or reflected.

A better answer would be that those colors absorb light and the intensity of the reflected light would need to be magnified many times to bring up the lumen to where the plant could benefit. It would be more efficient to provide the proper spectrum in the first place.
Click to expand...
Ack my bad, I really should have noticed that while I was typing lol, 3am the mind tends to function not so well.
 
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