PhotonWrangler
Flashaholic
So I picked up a 365nm LED flashlight the other day and I'm a little puzzled.
This is listed as a 3W 365nm LED, and the spectral analysis that was performed on this light by Craig at the LED museum (thanks Craig!) shows little to no visible energy present in the output. So why do I see whitish light coming from it (in addition to a slight purplish glow) ? I don't think it's my corneas fluorescing because I see the same whitish content reflected from non-fluorescing surfaces.
I'm not complaining about the light at all, as it's outperforming all of my 395nm lights as expected. I'm just a little puzzled about the output of the LED vs the spectral response of the human eye, especially considering that I don't see this same whitish energy emanating from a conventional 365nm fluorescent black light (link goes to pdf from G-E site showing spectral distribution).
Anyone else notice this? Does the Nichia 365nm chip do the same thing? :thinking:
BTW I picked this up after dealing with a blown radiator and trying to use the UV tracing dye with several of my 395nm UV LED flashlights with little success. The radiator hass since been replaced but I need to have a usable UV light on hand for the next time I have a coolant leak.
Oh, and I'm now in the market for an orange peel reflector for this light. The beam shape is kind of weird and would benefit from a stippled reflector.
Update -
I realized that the white plastic surrounding the chip die fluoresces and this is contributing to the visible light. I'm puzzled as to why they didn't make the plastic body black.
This is listed as a 3W 365nm LED, and the spectral analysis that was performed on this light by Craig at the LED museum (thanks Craig!) shows little to no visible energy present in the output. So why do I see whitish light coming from it (in addition to a slight purplish glow) ? I don't think it's my corneas fluorescing because I see the same whitish content reflected from non-fluorescing surfaces.
I'm not complaining about the light at all, as it's outperforming all of my 395nm lights as expected. I'm just a little puzzled about the output of the LED vs the spectral response of the human eye, especially considering that I don't see this same whitish energy emanating from a conventional 365nm fluorescent black light (link goes to pdf from G-E site showing spectral distribution).
Anyone else notice this? Does the Nichia 365nm chip do the same thing? :thinking:
BTW I picked this up after dealing with a blown radiator and trying to use the UV tracing dye with several of my 395nm UV LED flashlights with little success. The radiator hass since been replaced but I need to have a usable UV light on hand for the next time I have a coolant leak.
Oh, and I'm now in the market for an orange peel reflector for this light. The beam shape is kind of weird and would benefit from a stippled reflector.
Update -
I realized that the white plastic surrounding the chip die fluoresces and this is contributing to the visible light. I'm puzzled as to why they didn't make the plastic body black.
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