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	( 0.42 ; 0.46 )	( 0.66 ; 0.29 )	( 0.57 ; 0.29 ; 0.12 )
CCT	3700 Kelvin	2500 Kelvin	2700 Kelvin
distance		0.024	0.014
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)	185000 µW/cm² = 1850 W/m²
UVC ( 0 nm - 280 nm)	14.6 µW/cm² = 0.146 W/m²
non-terrestrial ( 0 nm - 290 nm)	18.2 µW/cm² = 0.182 W/m²
total2 ( 250 nm - 880 nm)	185000 µW/cm² = 1850 W/m²
UVB (EU) ( 280 nm - 315 nm)	61.9 µW/cm² = 0.619 W/m²
UVB (US) ( 280 nm - 320 nm)	69.3 µW/cm² = 0.693 W/m²
UVA+B ( 280 nm - 380 nm)	964 µW/cm² = 9.64 W/m²
Solar UVB ( 290 nm - 315 nm)	58.2 µW/cm² = 0.582 W/m²
UVA D3 regulating ( 315 nm - 335 nm)	70.2 µW/cm² = 0.702 W/m²
UVA (EU) ( 315 nm - 380 nm)	902 µW/cm² = 9.02 W/m²
UVA2 (medical definition) ( 320 nm - 340 nm)	94.3 µW/cm² = 0.943 W/m²
UVA (US) ( 320 nm - 380 nm)	894 µW/cm² = 8.94 W/m²
UVA1 (variant) ( 335 nm - 380 nm)	832 µW/cm² = 8.32 W/m²
UVA1 (medical) ( 340 nm - 400 nm)	964 µW/cm² = 9.64 W/m²
vis. UVA ( 350 nm - 380 nm)	723 µW/cm² = 7.23 W/m²
VIS Rep3 ( 350 nm - 600 nm)	121000 µW/cm² = 1210 W/m²
VIS Rep4 ( 350 nm - 700 nm)	181000 µW/cm² = 1810 W/m²
purple ( 380 nm - 420 nm)	2270 µW/cm² = 22.7 W/m²
VIS ( 380 nm - 780 nm)	184000 µW/cm² = 1840 W/m²
PAR ( 400 nm - 700 nm)	180000 µW/cm² = 1800 W/m²
blue ( 420 nm - 490 nm)	21000 µW/cm² = 210 W/m²
green ( 490 nm - 575 nm)	75000 µW/cm² = 750 W/m²
yellow ( 575 nm - 585 nm)	8450 µW/cm² = 84.5 W/m²
orange ( 585 nm - 650 nm)	68000 µW/cm² = 680 W/m²
red ( 650 nm - 780 nm)	8980 µW/cm² = 89.8 W/m²
IRA ( 700 nm - 1400 nm)	3640 µW/cm² = 36.4 W/m²
IRB ( 1400 nm - 3000 nm)	0 µW/cm² = 0 W/m²

Erythema	9.36 UV-Index
Pyrimidine dimerization of DNA	24.2 µW/cm²
Photoceratitis	15.6 µW/cm²
Photoconjunctivitis	14 µW/cm²
DNA Damage	17.8
Vitamin D3	18.8 µW/cm²
Photosynthesis	106000 µW/cm²
Luminosity	784000 lx
Human L-Cone	120000 µW/cm²
Human M-Cone	92900 µW/cm²
Human S-Cone	14800 µW/cm²
CIE X	100000 µW/cm²
CIE Y	110000 µW/cm²
CIE Z	28700 µW/cm²
PAR	858000000 mol photons
Extinction preD3	236 e-3*m²/mol
Extinction Tachysterol	594 e-3*m²/mol
Exctincition PreD3	199000 m²/mol
Extinction Lumisterol	147 m²/mol
Exctincition Tachysterol	793000 m²/mol
Extinction 7DHC	171 m²/mol
L-Cone	103000 µW/cm²
M-Cone	52000 µW/cm²
S-Cone	22600 µW/cm²
U-Cone	4250 µW/cm²
UVR - ICNIRP 2004	18.1 Rel Biol Eff
Melatonin Supression	26500 µW/cm²
Blue Light Hazard	17100 µW/cm² (21.8 µW/cm² per 1000 lx)
CIE 174:2006 PreVit D3	19.1 µW/cm²
Lumen Reptil	510000 "pseudo-lx"
Vitamin D3 Degradation	18.1 µW/cm²
Actinic UV	18.1 µW/cm² (0.23 mW/klm)
Exctincition Lumisterol	159000 m²/mol
Exctincition 7DHC	178000 m²/mol
Exctincition Toxisterols	108000 m²/mol

Solarmeter 6.2 (UVB, pre 2010)	94.1 µW/cm²
Solarmeter 6.5 (UV-Index, pre 2010)	6.15
Leybold UVB	56.8 µW/cm²
Leybold UVA	662 µW/cm²
Leybold UVC	12.3 µW/cm²
DeltaOhm UVB	121 µW/cm²
DeltaOhm UVC	28.1 µW/cm²
Vernier UVB	22.7 µW/cm²
Vernier UVA	360 µW/cm²
Gröbel UVA	771 µW/cm²
Gröbel UVB	38.6 µW/cm²
Gröbel UVC	12.9 µW/cm²
Solarmeter 6.4 (D3)	19.2 IU/min
UVX-31	161 µW/cm²
IL UVB	0.0411 µW/cm²
IL UVA	831 µW/cm²
Solarmeter 6.5 (UVI, post 2010)	4.67 UV-Index
Solarmeter 6.2 (UVB, post 2010)	49.1 µW/cm² (Solarmeter Ratio = 10.5)
Solarmeter AlGaN 6.5 UVI sensor	46.3 UV Index
GenUV 7.1 UV-Index	3.01 UV-Index
Solarmeter 10.0 (Global Power)	2080 W/m²
Solarmeter 4.0 (UVA)	14.1 mW/cm²
LS122	0.529 W/m²
ISM400	1520 W/m²