Reptile Lamp Database

Colorimetry is the science to describe physically the human color perception. The wavelength range 380 nm - 780 nm is visible to humans and detected by three different photoreceptors. Many Reptiles see the range 350 nm - 800 nm and have an additional UV photoreceptor in their retina.

Whereas a spectrometer measures the intensity in every tiny wavelength interval resulting in thousands of individual intensities, the human eye only measures three intensities detected by the three cones. The same is true for the reptile eye with usually three or four photoreceptors. Effectively the detailled spectrum displayed above reduces to a much compacter bar graph displayed below. The photoreceptor sensitivites from these L-Cone, M-Cone, S-Cone, and U-Cone are used, they are chosen as an average of measured reptile photoreceptor sensitivity curves. The bar graph also shows as reference the intensity seen by the three or four photoreceptors for average sunlight (id 1).

From these three numbers the colour coordinate and the correlated colour temperature for humans are calculated using the CIE standard method. I adapted this concept to a "3 cone reptile (M,S,U)" and a "4 cone reptile (L,M,S,U)". I am sure, that this adaption to other colour spaces makes sense mathematically and this is also done in scientific research regarding colour vision of animals, however I have not seen calculation of colour temperatures for other animals in the scientific literature. Even if it is hypothetical, at least this shows, how arbitrary the colour temperature is, and that the colour temperature calculated for humans does not apply to reptiles. The colour spaces also show the colour coordinates of different phases of daylight ((ids 1, 338 – 451, 511 – 513 ), indicated by crosses, coloured in the appriximate colour perceived by a human.

	Human (CIE)	3 cone reptile	4 cone reptile
Cone Excitation
Colour Coordinate	( 0.27 ; 0.28 )	( 0.26 ; 0.4 )	( 0.17 ; 0.21 ; 0.33 )
CCT	13000 Kelvin	9700 Kelvin	10000 Kelvin
distance		0.067	0.055
colour space			3-D-graph not implemented yet

Vitamin D3 is produced by UVB radiation around 300 nm. 7DHC/ProD3 present in the skin is converted to PreD3 when absorbing an UV photon. PreD3 can be converted back to ProD3, to Lumisterol, or to Tachysterol when absorbing another UV photon or can be converted to Vitamin D3 in a warm environment.

This process prevents any overdose of vitamin D3 from UV radiation with a spectrum similar to sunlight. As a comparison the solar spectra at 20°(id:14) and at 85°(id:21) solar angle are shown.

The ratio of the two solarmeters 6.2 (UVB) and 6.5 (UV index) readings has proven a useful and very simply number to acess the spectral shape in the vitamin-d3-active region.

Effective irradiances are calculated for all ranges, actionspectra and radiometers currently present in this database.

The calculation method is a numerical implementation (Simpson's rule) of the formula

To learn more about calculating effective irradiances and radiometers I recommend this excellent report on UVB meters: Characterizing the Performance of Integral Measuring UV-Meters (pdf).

total ( 0 nm - 0 nm)	730 µW/cm² = 7.3 W/m²
UVC ( 0 nm - 280 nm)	0.477 µW/cm² = 0.00477 W/m²
non-terrestrial ( 0 nm - 290 nm)	0.895 µW/cm² = 0.00895 W/m²
total2 ( 250 nm - 880 nm)	730 µW/cm² = 7.3 W/m²
UVB (EU) ( 280 nm - 315 nm)	31.4 µW/cm² = 0.314 W/m²
UVB (US) ( 280 nm - 320 nm)	45 µW/cm² = 0.45 W/m²
UVA+B ( 280 nm - 380 nm)	266 µW/cm² = 2.66 W/m²
Solar UVB ( 290 nm - 315 nm)	31 µW/cm² = 0.31 W/m²
UVA D3 regulating ( 315 nm - 335 nm)	69.7 µW/cm² = 0.697 W/m²
UVA (EU) ( 315 nm - 380 nm)	234 µW/cm² = 2.34 W/m²
UVA2 (medical definition) ( 320 nm - 340 nm)	80 µW/cm² = 0.8 W/m²
UVA (US) ( 320 nm - 380 nm)	221 µW/cm² = 2.21 W/m²
UVA1 (variant) ( 335 nm - 380 nm)	165 µW/cm² = 1.65 W/m²
UVA1 (medical) ( 340 nm - 400 nm)	164 µW/cm² = 1.64 W/m²
vis. UVA ( 350 nm - 380 nm)	95.9 µW/cm² = 0.959 W/m²
VIS Rep3 ( 350 nm - 600 nm)	470 µW/cm² = 4.7 W/m²
VIS Rep4 ( 350 nm - 700 nm)	538 µW/cm² = 5.38 W/m²
purple ( 380 nm - 420 nm)	64.4 µW/cm² = 0.644 W/m²
VIS ( 380 nm - 780 nm)	459 µW/cm² = 4.59 W/m²
PAR ( 400 nm - 700 nm)	419 µW/cm² = 4.19 W/m²
blue ( 420 nm - 490 nm)	154 µW/cm² = 1.54 W/m²
green ( 490 nm - 575 nm)	125 µW/cm² = 1.25 W/m²
yellow ( 575 nm - 585 nm)	17.1 µW/cm² = 0.171 W/m²
orange ( 585 nm - 650 nm)	54.9 µW/cm² = 0.549 W/m²
red ( 650 nm - 780 nm)	44.4 µW/cm² = 0.444 W/m²
IRA ( 700 nm - 1400 nm)	21.3 µW/cm² = 0.213 W/m²
IRB ( 1400 nm - 3000 nm)	0 µW/cm² = 0 W/m²

Erythema	3.26 UV-Index
Pyrimidine dimerization of DNA	19.4 µW/cm²
Photoceratitis	4.76 µW/cm²
Photoconjunctivitis	0.582 µW/cm²
DNA Damage	1.02
Vitamin D3	11.4 µW/cm²
Photosynthesis	303 µW/cm²
Luminosity	1050 lx
Human L-Cone	152 µW/cm²
Human M-Cone	140 µW/cm²
Human S-Cone	132 µW/cm²
CIE X	139 µW/cm²
CIE Y	145 µW/cm²
CIE Z	241 µW/cm²
PAR	2000000 mol photons
Extinction preD3	63.7 e-3*m²/mol
Extinction Tachysterol	223 e-3*m²/mol
Exctincition PreD3	34500 m²/mol
Extinction Lumisterol	20.8 m²/mol
Exctincition Tachysterol	318000 m²/mol
Extinction 7DHC	23.8 m²/mol
L-Cone	121 µW/cm²
M-Cone	153 µW/cm²
S-Cone	240 µW/cm²
U-Cone	206 µW/cm²
UVR - ICNIRP 2004	3.45 Rel Biol Eff
Melatonin Supression	174 µW/cm²
Blue Light Hazard	151 µW/cm² (145 µW/cm² per 1000 lx)
CIE 174:2006 PreVit D3	12.4 µW/cm²
Lumen Reptil	1480 "pseudo-lx"
Vitamin D3 Degradation	9.94 µW/cm²
Actinic UV	3.41 µW/cm² (32.6 mW/klm)
Exctincition Lumisterol	25700 m²/mol
Exctincition 7DHC	28400 m²/mol
Exctincition Toxisterols	6510 m²/mol

Solarmeter 6.2 (UVB, pre 2010)	55.7 µW/cm²
Solarmeter 6.5 (UV-Index, pre 2010)	3.36
Leybold UVB	39.7 µW/cm²
Leybold UVA	165 µW/cm²
Leybold UVC	0.358 µW/cm²
DeltaOhm UVB	93.5 µW/cm²
DeltaOhm UVC	11.7 µW/cm²
Vernier UVB	16.3 µW/cm²
Vernier UVA	153 µW/cm²
Gröbel UVA	200 µW/cm²
Gröbel UVB	23.1 µW/cm²
Gröbel UVC	0.369 µW/cm²
Solarmeter 6.4 (D3)	10.5 IU/min
UVX-31	106 µW/cm²
IL UVB	0.0252 µW/cm²
IL UVA	186 µW/cm²
Solarmeter 6.5 (UVI, post 2010)	2.52 UV-Index
Solarmeter 6.2 (UVB, post 2010)	35.4 µW/cm² (Solarmeter Ratio = 14)
Solarmeter AlGaN 6.5 UVI sensor	27 UV Index
GenUV 7.1 UV-Index	1.48 UV-Index
Solarmeter 10.0 (Global Power)	5.53 W/m²
Solarmeter 4.0 (UVA)	2.5 mW/cm²
LS122	0.00122 W/m²
ISM400	3 W/m²