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Originally Posted by dpg
What's a Sodium Light?  |
It's a relatively large, efficient light fixture with a low wattage requirement. The Sodium-vapor light puts out an orangy light. A similar light, the
Mercury-vapor light puts out a white light. Both are most often a stand-alone fixture, mounted high.
Across the water here, I see a neighbor who has one of each. One illuminates his four Jet-Skis at the shore and the other illuminates the "Railroad Crossing" sign at the back door.
I once lived in a city where the night sky was entirely orange -- for fifty miles -- from Sodium-vapor street lights. Planet Venus could be distinguished, but most of the stars were obliterated except for Betelguese.
You'd think that our regional power outage this summer would have made the sky "clear" again, but no. The McMansions' emergency lighting engages whether there's anyone home or not, and the stars go away again.
It's been forty years since I could walk home from a Winnipesaukee neighbor's, guided only by "Starshine" -- the light from the stars. We've become citified.