Imagine strolling down a street illuminated not by the standard white light but a mystic purple glow. This is the reality for some residents of El Paso, where Mesa Street has taken on an otherworldly hue. Initially, one might wonder if this is an aesthetic choice, perhaps for reducing light pollution or as a tribute to a local sports team.
The Widespread Purple Light Phenomenon
As it turns out, the peculiar purple glow is not unique to El Paso; it’s cropping up across various U.S. states, creating pockets of purple that are both intriguing and slightly disconcerting. The purple illumination has had a mixed reception, with some locals delighting in the novelty and even organizing car shows bathed in the violet light. However, for others, the experience isn’t as pleasant, leading to annoyances such as headaches and raising concerns about public safety.
Unraveling the Purple Mystery
Diving into The Autopian, a recent article shed light on the origins of this colorful conundrum. LED streetlights are at the heart of the matter, with a significant number of them exhibiting an unexpected defect. The challenge with creating white light from LEDs, which are naturally red, blue, or green, is that it usually requires an intricate balance of colors or the application of a filtering material to shift the hue to white.
Defective LEDs and Their Impact
Manufacturers opted for the less expensive solution of using purple or UV LEDs covered with a phosphor filter, designed for durability and color-corrected output. Unfortunately, some of these phosphor coatings are failing prematurely, flaking away and allowing the purple light to break through, leaving scientists and manufacturers scratching their heads as to why.
Although the market is being flooded with replacement bulbs, the rate of failure often outpaces the ability to install new ones. This brings about an odd comparison to the bygone era of white dog poop from the 1980s – a temporary phenomenon that perplexed an earlier generation and will likely be replaced and forgotten with time.
The Future of Streetlighting and LEDs
The persistent transition to LED lighting remains unchanged despite a smattering of strange theories and complaints about early LED issues, like the current color change or the overly intense brightness of some car headlights. While we navigate through the teething problems of this still-developing technology, the advantages of LEDs solidify their place in our future. Improved designs and solutions are on the horizon, ensuring the purple streetlight phase is but a hiccup in our journey towards more sustainable and efficient lighting.
