funkychateau
Enlightened
Why does the industry refer to a lower color temperature as "warmer" light? Every kid who ever had a chemistry set knows that the yellow part of the flame is cooler than the blue.
Do We Have "Color Temperature" Backwards?
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RobertM
Flashlight Enthusiast
Color temperature is the corresponding temperature of a glowing black body radiator, expressed in Kelvin.
funkychateau
Enlightened
A factual statement, but it offers no insight into why we call lower temperatures "warmer" and higher temperatures "cooler".
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Warm/Cool refers to a subjective perception of color, using terms that were developed before/independently of the knowledge that "blue" wavelengths represent more energy/a higher state of excitation than "red" ones. If you're an architect or interior designer, you'll use warm/cool to refer to things such as paint colors, where one gray can look more "red" or "blue" when placed next to another. Studies have shown that people subjectively perceive blue hues as "cooler"--put someone in a blue room that's 72 degrees F, and they'll think its cooler than a red room that's climate controlled to the same 72 degrees F (assuming humidity and air movement are the same).
Th232
Flashlight Enthusiast
^ This. It's more of a historical thing, just how the direction electrical current flows is not the same as the direction that electrons flow.
In day to day life, look at common "cold" things you see in normal life: ice, water, &c are all white/blue. The most common "warm" things are all yellow or red: normal fires, the sun, the filament in an incan bulb, the hotplate on your stove. Fires and temperatures that were hot enough to be blue are a relatively new thing.
In day to day life, look at common "cold" things you see in normal life: ice, water, &c are all white/blue. The most common "warm" things are all yellow or red: normal fires, the sun, the filament in an incan bulb, the hotplate on your stove. Fires and temperatures that were hot enough to be blue are a relatively new thing.
Yep, it's just a historical convention. We could switch and start calling lower color temperatures cool and higher color temperatures warm, and it would be a little more scientifically consistent, but it would confuse a lot of people 
Sort of like why the US doesn't use the metric system. It would be better if we did, but the transition would be nightmare.
Sort of like why the US doesn't use the metric system. It would be better if we did, but the transition would be nightmare.
Plenty of other countries have converted, there is some pain initially, but well worth it in the long run.
Australia converted to decimal currency on the 14 February 1966 and later to the Metric system in 1970.
Norm
Wrend
Enlightened
Too much of a pride issue in doing things "our" way. :shrug:
Then again, it's easier to reference distances in inches, feet, and miles and have an understanding of how far a distance is, just because that's what we're used to. It's the same with measuring temperatures in degrees Fahrenheit.
For higher accuracy/resolution, I do often prefer to use millimeters and centimeters instead of fractions of an inch. It also makes the conversions of radio frequencies and wavelengths easier.
Somewhat unrelated: It's been pretty hot here the last couple of weeks, in the 100s. I think I prefer it to be cold outside and warm inside instead of hot outside and cool inside. I also generally like "warmer" earthy colors, wood grains, and lighting for interior decoration. Guess I'll have to move to Alaska, northern Canada, or Eurasia.
Too cold? I can generally always put on more cloths, start a fire, turn up the heat, and so on. But when it's too hot like this, I don't think they'd like me wearing swim trunks to work. Only thing I don't like as much about the winter is having to drive in the snow.
Then again, it's easier to reference distances in inches, feet, and miles and have an understanding of how far a distance is, just because that's what we're used to. It's the same with measuring temperatures in degrees Fahrenheit.
For higher accuracy/resolution, I do often prefer to use millimeters and centimeters instead of fractions of an inch. It also makes the conversions of radio frequencies and wavelengths easier.
Somewhat unrelated: It's been pretty hot here the last couple of weeks, in the 100s. I think I prefer it to be cold outside and warm inside instead of hot outside and cool inside. I also generally like "warmer" earthy colors, wood grains, and lighting for interior decoration. Guess I'll have to move to Alaska, northern Canada, or Eurasia.
Too cold? I can generally always put on more cloths, start a fire, turn up the heat, and so on. But when it's too hot like this, I don't think they'd like me wearing swim trunks to work. Only thing I don't like as much about the winter is having to drive in the snow.
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fyrstormer
Banned
Because once upon a time red fire coals (or maybe lava) were the hottest stuff humans ever saw, and blue glacier ice was the coldest stuff humans ever saw, so we developed a species memory that red = hot and blue = cold.
Also, people turn red when they're overheated and blue when they're hypothermic.
fyrstormer
Banned
I use the metric system.
It was an easy switch, because my other hobbies are biking and computer programming; bikes use the Metric system almost exclusively, and computer programming lends itself to using measurement systems that are as consistent as possible.Currently the temperature is 28 degrees where I live. I'd prefer if it were more around 21 degrees, though 28 is much better than the 40 degrees it was on Saturday.
Bullzeyebill
Flashaholic
Let's get off the metric system conversation and back to the OP first post statement.
Bill
Bill
