Why headlights went from warm and yellow to retina-searing white – Jalopnik

In 1991 (Europe) and 1996 (America), high-intensity (HID) headlamps, or xenon headlamps, came onto the market, which work by passing electric arcs through xenon gas. At 3,000 to 3,500 lumens, they were three times as bright as halogens. HID headlights also increased the color temperature to white-as-reality-show-host teeth. While HID headlights come in a range of colors these days, it’s that stark white, bordering on blue range of 4,000 to 6,000K that they are infamous for.

Next came LEDs with the 2004 Audi A8. LEDs were more efficient, but increased illumination to the 3,600 to 4,500 lumen range. Less energy was lost as heat, and as a bonus, headlights became bright enough to pierce the human soul. Ironically, it is also LEDs that have made adaptive matrix headlights possible. Because they can be so minuscule, thousands of them can form a projector array.

In 2014, short-lived laser headlights from Audi and BMW arrived, which could shine for 600 meters, or almost 2,000 feet (US law limits distances to 250 meters, or about 820 feet). They also lived in a color temperature range of 5,500 to 6,000 K. There is no easy source to find the lumens of laser headlights, but American law limits headlights to 150,000 candela, or about 11,900 lumens, and America has never had full-power laser headlights, so draw your own conclusions.

Yes, bright headlights make it easier for drivers to see the nighttime environment. It’s just that that environment often contains human eyeballs trying to constrict their pupils to prevent rods and cones from turning to ash. Super bright lights definitely cause glare problems, especially for older people. Until manufacturers pull out a Rivian and develop headlights that meet U.S. standards, or until the NHTSA revises its standards, Americans are stuck with supernova beams whiter than bleached rice, while Europe gets headlights smart enough to preserve optic nerves.