You know regardless of the benefits to the environment, just think about how much more beautiful this would be on a tree-lined street.
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About 5 years ago I read an article about researches who were using exactly the same method to create Christmas trees that provided their own lights. I've always wondered what happened to that.
Posts: 1087 | Registered: Jul 1999
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Wait - the article says that the trees would glow red (gold particles emit violet light which makes chlorophyll glow red instead of appearing green).
Glowing red trees? Won't that be a bit dark and creepy looking? I mean, won't they just look angry and about to attack?
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Red is the best color for seeing in the dark as it doesn't screw up your night vision nearly as much as other lights, as for looking angry are you a bull ^._.^
Posts: 461 | Registered: Nov 2010
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ya, it will get rid of them nasty street lights that shine light in from outside while you're trying to sleep, while also not occasionally making a buzzing sound or flickering which is by far the worst cause is scaries ehhh
Posts: 461 | Registered: Nov 2010
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Trees planted using government money, planted on government property? That's pretty easy.
Point being, if the trees will be red for purposes of creating less light pollution or whathaveyou, we can certainly be doing that already. And if we aren't willing to now, why would we do so then?
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The point is why are the trees glowing RED? The answer you gave is because it doesn't mess with your eyes. Which is a good answer. And my actual question was, if red light is better than white/yellowish, why are we not doing that NOW?
The trees are presumably going to be planted by similar government agencies to those that currently maintain the street lights, since they're on government property accomplishing a public service. If we're presuming the government will eventually plant these trees, and we want the trees to be red, why are we not attempting to get the government to replace the current white/yellow street lights with red ones?
Posts: 4136 | Registered: Aug 2008
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Why would you expect the cost/benefit tradeoff for biological lights to end up in the same place as that for electrically produced lights? Maybe red lights are cheap in trees and expensive in electrics; maybe the red-light-is-better thing is someone's wild-assed guess; maybe red lights actually suck but the trees are effectively free.
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No, you missed a little, red light is simply better for night vision as it has less of an adjusting effect. As for cheaper I know I said it would be but then I thought how much nano-particule gold would cost and for that I have no clue. ------------------------
Also another question is how bright are these glowing trees compared to the standard streetlight?
Posts: 461 | Registered: Nov 2010
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quote:Originally posted by Rawrain: red light is simply better for night vision
In my experience, this is false.
Try reading in the dark with a red light.
Try reading in the dark with a blue/white light of equal intensity.
You can't pick out important details with red light. I would never risk driving in an environment lit only by red glowing trees.
This isn't to say this breakthrough isn't stunningly awesome, but we need a wider color range to use these trees as street lights.
Posts: 1029 | Registered: Apr 2007
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quote:Originally posted by C3PO the Dragon Slayer:
quote:Originally posted by Rawrain: red light is simply better for night vision
In my experience, this is false.
Try reading in the dark with a red light.
Try reading in the dark with a blue/white light of equal intensity.
You can't pick out important details with red light. I would never risk driving in an environment lit only by red glowing trees.
This isn't to say this breakthrough isn't stunningly awesome, but we need a wider color range to use these trees as street lights.
I guess pilots needs to change the cockpit lights so can read right cause I am pretty sure they use red lights in cockpits XD http://landonkryger.com/flexbeam/images/cockpit.jpg felt like adding a picture ._. ---------- And to further my arguement, it annoys me most when someone has their brights on and blinds you temporarly >:
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Having a red instrument display is not at all the same as having red streetlights, which would be an awful idea.
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Rawrain: red lights are used so the pilots' night vision is only minimally impaired. That is, it is because they are harder to see by that they are used.
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This seems to be the assumption, but I'm curious how true this is. It seems to me that implanting "glowing, sea urchin shaped gold nanoparticles" in to trees might be extremely expensive.
This is pretty neat. I wish they had pictures of the plant that they are using.
Posts: 1947 | Registered: Aug 2002
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This seems to be the assumption, but I'm curious how true this is. It seems to me that implanting "glowing, sea urchin shaped gold nanoparticles" in to trees might be extremely expensive.
This is pretty neat. I wish they had pictures of the plant that they are using.
The gold itself only glows because of the light hitting it, so that's not a factor only the nanoparticle part is the problem, of course if they told us how they get them tiny particules in the leaves of a particular tree they might as well tell you how to do it step by step..... cause after all it's all about the money (and people stealing your ideas ): )
Posts: 461 | Registered: Nov 2010
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I think any tree can be used unless there is a difference in chlorophyll between trees??
Kwea it's just the photoelectric effect> shine a line of a certain color on a particular substance and it gives off some sort of energy(not sure what to call it, electricity or light)..
Natural night light itself won't set off the chlorophyll because it lacks the specific color purpleish- but gold nanoparticules when hit by night light give off a purple glow that gives the chlorophyll a red glow.... but a somehow see the tree as glowing a red-violet....
You know gold-nanoparticules are most likely not the ONLY substance that gives off this purple color. So odds are there is an existing substitute out there that is much cheaper..
Posts: 461 | Registered: Nov 2010
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Depends on the substance really, from what I know of gold it is inert, and trees are signifcantly hardier than humans, neh?
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