So do you know why they call a light 10000k

[mustang420colvin]

Just want to know how many of us reefers actually know what a Kelvin(K) is and what is ment by the rating on lights ie 6k 10k 20k and so on.
If you dont know and would like to. It is the black body ration that would be given off of a object that has that temp. So take for example the temp of the sun is approx 6000 Kelvin which relates to the lights that are rated obviously 6000 Kelvin. So the sun gives off light in the range of 460-470nm wavelength and this is yellow light. And a kelvin is a temperature scale that is based off of the celcius scale it is the celcius temp plus 273.15. Just thought you might want to know.

 

[ChrisRD]

Some more info on the topic:

http://www.inlandreef.com/mhcolor.html

HTH

 

[teevee]

0°K is absolute zero, the point at which molecules stop moving. However I do not understand the relationship between K temperature and bulb hue, as my background as far as light goes is in relation to wavelength (in psychometrics) and I don't know the relation between hue and temperature.

 

[Mogo]

Thanks ChrisRD. Good article. Also Delbeek and Sprung's "The Reef Aquarium Vol. 1" p. 186, 187. Very good description there.

 

[Anonymous]

Hue is a three letter English word that is not very specific (e.g., all seven hue of rainbow...). However, in color theory it has specific physical meaning, and I still don't understand it.

With that said, I usually relate the color temperature to the spectrum of the light bulb. The spectrum of a light source is a 2D line plot of wavelength and intensity, which is much more easy to understand than hue.