"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote in
message
In article ,
Albert Manfredi wrote:
Have you never wondered why most prefer the colour
temperature of tungsten
for domestic lighting?

It's not tungsten we prefer, I don't think, but rather a
color temperature that's close to that of a flame.

Err, isn't that what I wrote? It's the colour temperature
that matters rather than the source.

There many kinds of preferences. One is the preference for that which is
traditional and familiar, and another is the preference for that which is
most effective for the purpose at hand.

I've found that if the goal is reading accurately with limited light, then
higher temperatures even 5000 degrees and up, can be preferable. I've read
far into many a dark fall or winter evening in a tent, using a pretty blue
LED headlamp.

I did some tests of people reading Bibles and hymnals which tend to small
print, in a congregational setting with fairly high light levels, and found
that my readers were most comfortable with color temperatures in the 3200
degree range.

I suspect that preferences for color temperatures below 3200 degrees are
heavily influenced by tradition and past experience.