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Here in Baltimore the city seems to have purchased a huge batch of defective LEDs that are actually purple. It’s disturbing when you encounter one.
by matthewdgreen 2y ago
Here in Baltimore the city seems to have purchased a huge batch of defective LEDs that are actually purple. It’s disturbing when you encounter one.
- josephcsible 2y agoNitpick: "are actually purple" makes it sound like they came out of the factory purple, but they're actually changing from white to purple over time as the phosphor coating fails.
- NikkiA 2y agoThey'll be near-UV LEDs with a phosphor to produce white, high efficiency, low cost, but garbage long term.
- matthewdgreen 2y agoJust to be clear, these are about 1-3 years old. So yes they probably weren't purple on the day they were installed, but this is a defect and not normal aging. https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/136nz3b/til_since_2020_white_led_streetlights_have_been/ https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/136nz3b/til_...
- 1659447091 2y agoThe city employee who bought them is probably a massive Ravens fan...
- gunian 2y agoi mean who wouldn't be the way they're playing
- Peanuts99 2y agoMight be so that they don't interfere with a certain species of wildlife. We have deep blue ones near me that aren't visible by a protected bat species.
- i_am_proteus 2y agoIt happened in NC, too: https://www.dukechronicle.com/article/2024/10/duke-university-chronquiry-purple-streetlights-duke-energy-manufacturing-defect-blue-hue-led-lightbulbs-phosphor-silicone-layer-pedestrian-safety https://www.dukechronicle.com/article/2024/10/duke-universit...
- tuumi 2y agoFlorida too. https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2023/08/28/need-to-report-a-purple-street-light-heres-how/ https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2023/08/28/need-to-r...
- lesona 2y agoThey’re purple (blue is the other option) because veins are harder to see under purple light. They’re used to deter drug use, from my understanding. Edit: final clause
- headsupernova 2y agoNot true, they're just defective and degraded quickly, resulting in the odd color.