Light as a Disruptor to be Quantified
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2012 |
| Type | Article in Proceedings |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Web | 3 typos corrected after publication |
| Field | Pedagogy and education |
| Keywords | darkness; circadian cycle; sleep disruption; radiometry; photometry; faint light |
| Attached files | |
| Description | Day and night cycle, what's more natural than that? And what aspect of nature has been lost more than this one, in our civilisation? It appears, that the present light amounts we're using at night 'thanks' to electric lighting are far over the safe levels. Not only wildlife, but our own health is damaged a lot. Bad and shorter sleep, reduced melatonin production controlling the night-mode metabolism result. The very roots of our civilisation vanish. However, hard numbers are a must in debating those issues. And a broad citizen involvement. Bringing light-at-night photometry to everybody's hands is feasible, instruments for that exist now. We present an overview of technologies, results and their implications. Restoring healthy darkness and still being able to live comfortably is well within our reach. Quantitative approach helps to overcome the business parole 'the more light the better'. Light can be a good servant again, not a bad lord. |
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