Chemists John Bullough, Jakoah Brgoch, and Ram Seshadri were curious to come up with a conclusion on why the streetlights turned purple at night. They studied at the University of Houston, Texas A&M University, and University of California, exploring various possible explanations.
Streetlights are made with Blue, Red, and sometimes yellow LED lights that create the white lighting that powers the streetlights. This way, drivers and people walking outside at night can stay safe and have some sort of lighting.
The problem is that the streetlights were recently turning purple, which is not good for the eyes of people and can confuse drivers who drive at night. Scientists hypothesize that the layer around the light peels off, exposing the blue LED light underneath and making the light turn purple. However, the light would completely go dark or turn off-white if that was the case.
Unfortunately, the scientists were only left with a hypothesis that didn’t provide enough information to tell if they were right or wrong. Researchers recommend that if a driver or walker sees a purple street light, they should try and get away from it as soon as possible so they don’t experience any blurriness or blackness in their vision at nighttime.
In conclusion, there is no answer that scientists can provide us with. Drivers are recommended to just try and stay safe and be curious when outside after dark.
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Dear Jade’
Your post made me think that light posts aren¨t supposed to be purple. As the lights are supposed to be white, we should avoid these. Now I know especially at night as they cause more harm. Something I wonder is if people scientists will ever stop street lights from going purple.
Sincerely,
Jenive
Dear Jade,
Your post made me think about the way street lights can affect our vision and our driving. For example, when the lights are a yellow/white color they help us see better. Although, if the lights were turning purple color it makes it harder for drivers to see because it causes for their vision to be blurry. Something I wonder is if its the same for the people who are colorblind or not.
Sincerely,
Abigail Gonzalez
Dear Jade,
Your post made me think about the way street lights can affect our vision and our driving. For instance when the lights are a yellow color they help us see better and make it clearer to people driving. Whereas if the lights start peeling and turn a purple color it makes it harder for drivers to see causing their vision to be blurry. Something I wonder is, how could seeing the purple light cause a person to lose vision or see blurriness when driving at night.
Sincerely,
Antonia Mariscal
I thought this topic was really interesting, and something that not a lot of people talk about very often. I never thought about the dangerous implications of purple street lights, but one thing I would’ve included was more information about more negative effects of this change. I would also do more research into why the streetlights are turning purple, and why they cause blurriness or blindness.
I think that there could be some kind of government cover up. Why didn’t they finish their research?
But seriously this is pretty interesting, they should try to find something to replace LED lights. It can be easier on the eyes and better for the environment.
https://www.eaton.com/mx/en-us/company/news-insights/lighting-resource/trends/a-brief-history-of-street-lighting.html#:~:text=In%201417%2C%20the%20Mayor%20of,efficient%20street%20lighting%20in%201802.
This is an article that goes into the history of streetlights.
This is a very interesting topic, which gives us insight on the mysterious purple street lights. The evidence the writer includes and the sources they provide allow me to believe their research, and conclude my own thoughts. I will be cautious when driving at night, especially if I see a purple street light. I would expand your research on the purple LED lights. I think readers would want more details about how harmful the LED streetlights are, their long-term effects, and the best way to fix the problem.
I really enjoyed learning about the importance of streetlights and I never considered the danger of purple lights. I think you’re very knowledgeable on this topic, but I’d encourage you to further explain the impact of purple lights. You say they are dangerous because they can cause blurriness or blackness, but I think readers would benefit from knowing some scientific background regarding the harm of purple light. Furthermore, I think explaining other potential hypotheses would be significant. For example, you mentioned the delamination of the layer over the LED, but I think further explaining a potential manufacturing error would be helpful. Overall, I took a lot from this and gained knowledge I didn’t previously have.
I like that you used a lot of evidence and reasoning from research to explain your topic. I wish you would have expanded more on how purple light is bad for drivers. This would make me realize more about how the street lights are harmful.