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posted by
martyb
on Tuesday January 15 2019, @11:27PM
from the blinded-by-even-more-distant-oncoming-traffic dept.
from the blinded-by-even-more-distant-oncoming-traffic dept.
Most people don’t turn on their car’s headlights and think, I wish they were brighter. Shuji Nakamura is not most people.
The Nobel Prize-winning illumination scientist has spent the past five years developing a laser-based lighting system. His company, SLD Laser, says the new design is 10 times brighter than today’s LED lights, capable of illuminating objects a kilometer away while using less power than any current technology. And unlike a regular, dumb headlight, the laser can potentially be integrated into current and forthcoming driver-assistance systems.
Do headlights need to be brighter?
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The Headlight of the Future Is a Laser
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If the thunder don't get you, then the lightning will.
(Score: 2) by RS3 on Wednesday January 16 2019, @04:00PM
I'm in USA and you're probably not. It's amazing how much misconception there is about USA.
I don't like: "the US is way behind everyone else". Maybe we exercise wisdom and caution. I don't think that blinding oncoming drivers is progress (although it's rampant now).
USA is made up of States, and "States' Rights" has been an ongoing fight since 1776. The Feds try to force their rules onto the states. They can't really do it legally, but they gather and redistribute so much money that they can force us into conformity by threatening to withhold $. A great example is federal highway money.
Yes, when halogens were first allowed they had a 35W limit for low-beams and 55 for high. The bulb manufacturers figured out how to get maximum light output from that 35W. As an engineer, I'm amazed at the stupidity of enacting a law regarding light output based on watts consumed. We have the ability to measure actual light output, right?
But I digress- generally transportation laws are uniform, but each state has much discretion re: interpretation, implementation, enforcement, etc. For example: many states have enacted laws specifically forbidding the use of "driving" or "fog" lights when there are oncoming cars. Half of cars seem to have them on anyway. Many states have annual auto inspection, but some do not (!!!). My state allows independent shops to both do the inspection AND the repairs (with the owner's approval). That is Conflict of Interest. I'm a car nut and do all my own work, but most of my friends and relatives get huge bills for unnecessary work. You'd think there would be more policing, undercover stings, etc., but nope. A brake job used to cost $50 / axle. Now I get friends coming to me in desperation due to a $500-1500 estimate. Shops are offering financing now!! I think it needs to be a law that if a shop does the inspecting, they are NOT allowed to do the repair. I'd rather have state run inspection stations.
And yes, headlight type, bulb wattage, aim, etc., are all part of state inspection, and it's up to the shop to do it, and some do. In my state and most states, at any time a state cop can pull a car over and fail it for state inspection violation, and if it's bad enough, prevent you from driving it.