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Originally Posted by TheSTig
Then how come lighthouses aren't red? I thought white was the best color for headlights, as it is all the colors. Red.... red woudln't light up a whole lot. Red is pretty dim on the value scale.
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Red, as I said, has the longest wavelength so it can be seen from further away. However the colors of things we see are a direct result of reflecting that color of light (for example, plants are green because their chloroplasts absorb every color
except green. So if you were to shine a red light on a blue object, it would be difficult to see that object. White light, as you said, contains all the colors, so you can see everything well. So for the most part, white light is better for both lighthouses and headlights
(even though it will not go as far as red) ...but definately not green, which was my point
On a side note, if you notice after red (taillights) and amber (turn signals), then next longest wavelength is yellow. What color are most fog lights?
White is not an ideal color for foglights because the fog is made of tiny water molecules, and when white light hits a water molecule or prism, it seperates scattering the light in a million directions.