Lighting
Lighting is the illumination of an area, usually by artificial sources such as a lamp or flashlight.
Natural indoor lighting is by windows and skylights.
Artificial indoor lighting is by means of lamps, today usually electric lights, but previously by gas, candles or oil lamps. Modern freestanding lamps typically have a base which holds up a light bulb which is covered by a lampshade. Modern portable lighting is typically a torch(also called a flashlight) running on batteries.
In cities, streets are often lighted at night, usually by lamp-posts(also called streetlights). Smaller or rural roads may not be lit. In major cities, Light pollution is of growing concern.
Vehicle lights
Vehicles typically include headlights and tail lights. Headlights are white or yellow lights placed in the front of the vehicle, designed to illuminate the upcoming road and to make the vehicle more visible. Tail lights are always red and are placed in the rear to quickly alert other drivers about the vehicle's direction of travel. In the image to the right, the top (white portion) of the tail light is the back-up lamp, which when lit, is used to indicate that the vehicle's transmission has been placed in the reverse gear, warning anyone behind the vehicle that it is about to move backwards.
In addition to lighting for useful purposes, automobiles increasingly feature ornamental lighting. In the late 60s and early 70s, manufacturers would sometimes backlight their logos and or other translucent panelling. In the 90s, a popular trend was to customize vehicles with neon lighting, especially underneath the body of a car. In the first decade of 2000, neon lighting is increasingly yielding to digital vehicle lighting, in which bright LEDs are placed on the car and operated by a computer which can be customized and programmed to display a whole range of changing patterns and colors.
See also
- furniture
- street furniture
- stage lighting
- lighting designer
- timeline of lighting technology
- light bulb
- digital car lighting
- light emitting diodes
- 3D computer graphics
- Domotics: lighting control.
- Green Light: underwater lights
External links
- http://lightingwiki.com/FrontPage - "a forum for lighting designers, lighting researchers, lighting contractors, and any other people who are interested in illumination related topics, both in architectural and entertainment environments."