Why Do Most Lighthouses Have Red Stripes?

Thanks to their length, these lighthouses can be noticed from kilometers away and undoubtedly make the job of sailors easier, especially in night vision. Choosing the predominant color red may seem pointless at first.

But when you get into it, This color is not a random choice You will testify clearly.

First of all, let’s look at the purpose of lighthouses rather than their colors.

Lighthouses warn sailors of potential dangers and to indicate the route to a port or harbor It has purposes such as. At first, lighthouses consisted of fires burning on top of their hills, but over time, this design changed and became specially designed buildings.

In addition to the design of lighthouses, their location is also very important. So in the sea, The height of the lighthouse is a distinguishing point. A higher lighthouse, visible from greater distances, also increases the reaction time of ships and serves as a warning of a possible disaster.

But as lighthouse designs continued to evolve, it became clear that height was not the sole determinant of visibility.

Next to the height The light factor is also of vital importance. has. For example, a single light source distributes its energy evenly in all directions, meaning that a distant observer can detect only a very small fraction of the total brightness.

So increasing the brightness does not make it more visible from a distance. The solution at this point is directing light energy in a specific direction It is possible. One of the first methods used for this is to confine the light source inside a parabolic reflector.

This allows the light hitting the reflector to be concentrated in a single direction, allowing the flashing light to be seen from multiple directions. But innovations are not limited to this.

Augustine Jean Fresnel considered carving the parts used in lenses to allow light rays to enter and exit the required gaps at consistent angles and He brought out his Fresnel lens.

The Fresnel lens, when combined with other lenses, captures almost all the light and makes the parabolic reflector obsolete. So this idea It is very effective in preventing possible accidents at sea in the dark of the night.

The illumination of lighthouses is quite bright, but this brightness is only effective in night vision.

For example, the brightness of the Sun also dwarfs the brightness of sunlight. This is where the colors used in lighthouses come into play. Even though these structures are made of brick or stone, they are mostly integrates seamlessly with their background.

In order not to get lost among backgrounds such as cliffs, mountains, fields, forests and sky, red and white are used for them. It is a form and this has become a tradition for centuries.

For this reason, strips in characteristic colors are used and these colors are Allows increased daytime visibility. So, while the Fresnel lens plays a major role in night vision, it is the red dye that plays this role during the day.

Our other content that may interest you: