Xeon, Halogen, Neon, Mercury Vapor, Sodim Vapor, etc. All types off light bulbs that produce light not by simply heating a tungstun fillament as conventional incadecent bulbs, but rather produce light by passing electrical current through a gas. The type of gas that fills the bulb is where Xeon, Neon, Halogen, etc get thier names.
Each gas, when excited produces a different spectrum of light, ranging from a blue to a yellow tint. Blue light is a shorter wavelength and more is reflected by the earths atmosphere (which is by the way, why the sky is blue) so blue lights are generally considered less effecient. Since more light is reflected by the air, more light is required to illuminate an object. Also, since more light is reflected by the air, blue light becomes less focused. And sort of related, human eyes are more sensitive to blue light.
In the end, none of this really matters, because what is being debated here is High Intensity Discharge (HID) lights vs conventional lights. HID is not defined by Xeon lamps, although they are most commonly used. Instead HID defines a type of light that is brighter, but more focused, allowing objects to be illuminated at greater distances than conventional lights, but without interfering with oncomming traffic.
Simply installing "hyper white" or other after market bulbs in conventional lights is not the same as HID. It may increase the brightness of the light, or adjust the hugh, but it does not change the focus of the light. Rice boy likes to do this to his Honda, and it pisses everyone off because the light enclosure is designed for a specific bulb. The increased brightness casts more light into the oncomming lane, and that is what we all hate (besides cars with really big wings and "Powered by ..." stickers).
Each gas, when excited produces a different spectrum of light, ranging from a blue to a yellow tint. Blue light is a shorter wavelength and more is reflected by the earths atmosphere (which is by the way, why the sky is blue) so blue lights are generally considered less effecient. Since more light is reflected by the air, more light is required to illuminate an object. Also, since more light is reflected by the air, blue light becomes less focused. And sort of related, human eyes are more sensitive to blue light.
In the end, none of this really matters, because what is being debated here is High Intensity Discharge (HID) lights vs conventional lights. HID is not defined by Xeon lamps, although they are most commonly used. Instead HID defines a type of light that is brighter, but more focused, allowing objects to be illuminated at greater distances than conventional lights, but without interfering with oncomming traffic.
Simply installing "hyper white" or other after market bulbs in conventional lights is not the same as HID. It may increase the brightness of the light, or adjust the hugh, but it does not change the focus of the light. Rice boy likes to do this to his Honda, and it pisses everyone off because the light enclosure is designed for a specific bulb. The increased brightness casts more light into the oncomming lane, and that is what we all hate (besides cars with really big wings and "Powered by ..." stickers).
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