APPLICATIONS OF RADIANT ENERGY 16-7

3. Between temperatures of 85 to 120 degrees Farenheit there is very

little difference in fading rate. Higher temperatures may increase it.
4. Most of the fading produced by natural daylight appears to be
caused by energy of wavelengths shorter than approximately 0.6 micron.
5. Most colored fabrics are particularly susceptible to short-wave ultra-
violet energy. The fading rate when exposed to 0.2537-micron energy
may be very much faster than when exposed to the same radiant power
density of light of mid-spectrum quality.
6. Reasonably good quality materials show no disturbing fading upon
exposure to incandescent illumination up to some 50,000 footcandle-hours.
For equal fading, and if equated on average relative exposures in foot-
candle-hours, the following relative fading rates seem to represent average
results with colored textiles:
1.00 for natural daylight
(6,000 degrees Kelvin)
0.55 for tungsten-filament lamps (2,850 degrees Kelvin)
0.60 for daylight fluorescent lamps (6,500
degrees Kelvin)
Thus, nearly all dyed textiles may be exposed safely to natural daylight
for about 30,000 footcandle-hours. In practice, in an average show window
with illumination on the goods of 275 footcandles, the safe exposure would
be about 100 hours or roughly 8 days.
Bleaching. Illuminants, such as the carbon arc, that roughly duplicate
the qualities of sunlight are used to test the fastness of dyes. Either these
illuminants or those emitting energy of 0.2537-micron wavelength are
employed to bleach linens, waxes, straws, and some food products. The
spectral change that occurs in a normal fading process increases slightly
the reflectance in regions of maximum absorption and causes a decrease in
reflectance in regions of minimum absorption.
Light for Insect Trapping
9
Light sources are used in agriculture as lures for phototropic insects,
particularly to control the codling moth, fruit flies, and night-feeding
beetles. General conclusions have been reached as follows:
1. The closer light wavelengths approach the blue end of the spectrum,
the more insects they attract.
2. The closer light wavelengths approach the red end of the spectrum,
the fewer insects they attract.
3. The higher the brightness of a source, the greater its attraction
power, regardless of color.
4. The substitution of yellow lamps for white lamps of equal candlepower
reduces the number of insects attracted by approximately 50 per cent.
5. Because bare lamps attract insects from all directions and only a
small percentage of the light emitted by a bare lamp falls on the area it is
desired to light, they attract more insects than lamps in reflectors.
6. The use of reflectors and regular inside-frosted lamps will reduce the
number of insects attracted.