When it comes to outdoor activities, having a reliable flashlight is a must. Did you know that the light color of your flashlight can be just as important as its brightness and battery life? Here are some common flashlight light colors and their uses in the great outdoors:
Red light and its uses
Red light is any similar colors evoked by light in the wavelength range of 630–740 nm approximately.
Flashlights with red lights have many uses in outdoor activities, particularly when a low light level is needed. Here are a few examples of how we use red light flashlights in outdoor activities:
Preserve night vision
The human eyes are adaptive – when the illumination color light changes, they need time before they can adapt. Dark adaptation is adjusting from light to dark, which takes a long time. In comparison, light adaptation is the process of adapting from dark to light, which takes a short time. When we use white flashlight lighting in outdoor activities, the sight from the light to the dark switch, belonging to the dark adaptation, takes a long time. There will be a short period of “blindness”. While we use the red light to illuminate, it belongs to dark adaptation and only takes a shorter time for adaption. It avoids a short period of “blindness”. For example, when you are around a campfire, when you have to go out in the pitch dark to run an errand, a red light flashlight illuminating allows you to adapt quickly to night conditions without a short period of blindness.
Hunting and fishing
Many animals are insensitive to red light. The human retina contains two light-sensitive tissues: cone cells and rod cells. The cone cells distinguish colors, and the rod cells distinguish contours. The presence of cone cells in the retina allows humans to produce color perception. Many animals have only rod cells plus few cone cells, or just rod cells and no cone cells, resulting in insensitivity to color or even no color perception. So, when the hunters are hunting at night using a red light flashlight, they use red light to find the prey but the prey is unaware. Red lights are significantly improving the efficiency of hunting.
Wildlife observation
A red-light flashlight can be a valuable tool if you’re out in the wilderness and want to observe wildlife without disturbing them. The red light flashlight helps you to see animals without startling them, making it easier to observe their behavior and movements.
Nighttime hiking
Red light flashlights are excellent for nighttime hiking because they allow you to see the trail ahead without disturbing the natural surroundings. Red light is less disruptive to nocturnal animals and will not ruin your night vision, making it easier to spot hazards on the trail.
Not attractive to mosquitoes
Red light is suitable for summer nights because it attracts fewer insects. More insects fly around in the white light and fewer in red.
Camping
Red light flashlights are also helpful in camping, allowing you to move around the campsite without disturbing your fellow campers. You can use a red-light flashlight to find your way to the bathroom, check on your gear, or prepare a late-night snack without disturbing others’ sleeping.
Be friendly to companion
When camping or other night activities, you and your companion face each other. If you wear a headlamp, the white light will shine directly into your companion, making them feel blinding and uncomfortable. At this time, if your headlamp with red light can avoid the problem. So, you and your companion can be more close and unobstructed contact because the red light is not intrusive.
Universal signal for attention
Red light is the universal signal for attention. It is great to have a red light on the behind of you when riding a bike at night. The moving cars behind you can see you and avoid your bike.
Wider peripheral vision
Using red lights outdoors in the dark will give you more peripheral vision. When you use white light, your eyes adjust to the light so that you can only see what is illuminated by the headlights. When your eyes adjust to the darkness, you can use a red light to illuminate the trail, but you can also see everything in the distance that is illuminated by the moon. You’ll be amazed at how much you can see.
Stargazing
Red light flashlights are also helpful for stargazing, as they allow you to navigate and set up your equipment without disrupting your eyes’ dark adaptation. Red light is also less likely to interfere with the visibility of celestial objects, making it easier to enjoy the night sky.
Overall, red light is less bright than white light. Red lights are great for preserving night vision. Astronomers, hunters, and campers often use them to avoid disturbing nocturnal animals or others. The red lights allow them to see and navigate in low-light conditions without disrupting the natural environment.
Green light and its uses
The light with a primary wavelength range of 495–570 nm approximately is green. Green lights have some same features as red lights, such as preserving night vision and being insensitive to the animal. So, the green light has some common uses as the red light, like hiking, hunting, fishing, wildlife observation, and more. Green light also has some other applications:
Read instrument or map
Green light penetrates better than red light. Green light is more suitable for distance versions and closed-up clarity, such as reading instruments or maps.
Wider peripheral vision
Since both cones and rods are sensitive to green light, peripheral vision uses rods primarily. As red isn’t perceived as well in peripheral vision, green light is a better choice in many tactical situations than red light.
Illumination in snow
Green light is also great for travelling in the snow. Green lights don’t reflect and blind you as white light.
Illumination green
Green lights do an excellent job of lighting things that are already green. The green light flashlights are perfect for hunters and others who spend time in the woods.
Navigation
Green light can be helpful for navigation in low light conditions, such as in a dense forest or moonless night. It is less likely to attract attention or cause glare, making it easier to see your surroundings and stay on course.
Use green light around night vision goggles
Some types of night vision goggles are less sensitive to green light. Using green light may cause less glare for a friend standing next to you using night vision goggles. However, it is NOT entirely invisible to night vision gear, so don’t assume that an enemy with night vision goggles will not see you waving a bright green light around.
Energy saving
For the same limited battery power and the same output, the green LEDs also have a longer run time than many other colored LEDs.
In brief, green light flashlights have many applications in outdoor activities. We mainly used them to read instruments and maps.
Blue light and its uses
The blue-coloured bands of visible light range in wavelength from 380 to 500 nm approximately is blue light. The main applications of blue light are based on the feature that blood, oil, and certain fluids fluoresce when exposed to blue light.
Find evidence
The forensics teams and crime scene investigators use blue light to find evidence. Blue lights are perfect for following blood trails and looking for fluids invisible to the naked eye. Forensic teams use blue lights to search crime scenes for blood, body fluids, chemicals, and other liquids.
Trace bloodstain
The hunters use a blue light flashlight to trace wounded prey. After shooting an animal, hunters scour the forest, searching for the telltale glow of blood. They go from one blood splatter to the next until they finally find the fallen prey. Blue lights also help bow hunters find their lost arrows because most quality arrows use fluorescent colors on the fletching to make them easier to see in the dark. And meanwhile, blue lights undisturbed other animals.
Identify fluid leaks
The fluorescent properties in most fluids and oils will glow under blue light. Blue light can search for chemicals, oil, and other leaks/spills in industrial applications.
Fishing
Fishermen use blue lights to attract plankton and insects. Plankton and insects attract fish. Furthermore, because blue light has a shorter wavelength, it can effectively reflect the phosphor at the tail of the drift, so many people use blue light torches to spotlight fish.
Locate objects in the water
Divers and boaters often use blue light flashlights to help locate objects in the water.
Search and rescue
Use blue light to locate missing persons or objects in outdoor environments.
Yellow light and its uses
The wavelength of yellow light is approximately in the range of 577-597 nanometers. This yellow light is not warm white. Due to its specific wavelength, yellow light is all visible in the refraction, scattering the little color light. In other words, yellow light is the most penetrating, and under the same conditions, yellow light travels farther than different visible light. The yellow light flashlight is perfect for flogging and rain weather illuminating.
Because yellow light penetrates well, people use a yellow flashlight to observe the internal structure of the jade stone, such as: whether there are cracks, defects, impurities, etc. Also, yellow light reduces some visual distractions, and you can see it as it is.
In short, people use yellow light flashlights because of their penetrating.
White light and its uses
White light is a colorless daylight. White light is a mixture of all the visible spectrum’s wavelengths. Hence, the wavelength of the white light is 400 – 700 nm.
White flashlights are the most common and versatile. White light is close to sunlight, and lighting with white light in the dark is in line with the visual experience of our eyes. White light illuminates the true color of the object itself. Moreover, white light is higher than other color lights in terms of brightness and color temperature, giving people the strongest bright feeling. Therefore, white light is widely used for night hiking and camp lighting in outdoor activities.
Here are some but not limited practical examples of how we use white light in outdoor activities:
Camping
Whether setting up a tent or trying to find your way back to your campsite after a late-night bathroom break, a flashlight with white light can be a lifesaver. It’s an essential tool for any camping trip.
Hiking
Hiking trails can be dark and treacherous, especially at night. A flashlight with white light can help you see where you are going and avoid obstacles. It can also signal for help if you get lost or injured.
Long distance lighting
One of the main benefits of white light is its ability to provide strong, long-distance, and precise illumination. White light can be beneficial when navigating through unfamiliar terrain or finding your way in the dark. White light is also more effective at illuminating objects and surfaces, making it easier to see what you are doing or where you are going. The perfect flashlight for long-distance lighting certainly is an LEP flashlight. You can read my previous post: LEP Flashlight.
Discriminate colors
If it is important to discriminate colors you need to use white light.
Signal for help
In addition to providing light, white light can also be a safety feature. If you are out in the wilderness or an unfamiliar area, a flashlight with white light can be a signal for help.
Self-defense
A high-power white light flashlight is a self-defense tool. If your enemy or aggressive animals are approaching, shoot their eyes with high-power white light to make them dizzying in a short time to get the chance to escape.
In conclusion, the light colors of your flashlight can be as necessary depending on the task at hand. But it would help if you also had a white light flashlight whenever you are in the dark. The white light flashlight is the most widely used daily, and other color lights are supplementary to white light.
If you are interested in the uses of UV light and its applications, please read my next post: Ultraviolet light.
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