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.

WARNING: The measurement range (350 - 800 nm) is not sufficient for this evaluation! Data is only available in the range 250.23 - 750.24 nm. Results are shown anyway but should be ignored by anyone except experts.

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	( 0.32 ; 0.37 )	( 0.13 ; 0.39 )	( 0.26 ; 0.093 ; 0.29 )
CCT	5800 Kelvin	0 Kelvin	9000 Kelvin
distance		0	0.16
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)	13200 µW/cm² = 132 W/m²
UVC ( 0 nm - 280 nm)	0.156 µW/cm² = 0.00156 W/m²
non-terrestrial ( 0 nm - 290 nm)	3.61 µW/cm² = 0.0361 W/m²
total2 ( 250 nm - 880 nm)	13200 µW/cm² = 132 W/m²
UVB (EU) ( 280 nm - 315 nm)	647 µW/cm² = 6.47 W/m²
UVB (US) ( 280 nm - 320 nm)	696 µW/cm² = 6.96 W/m²
UVA+B ( 280 nm - 380 nm)	3600 µW/cm² = 36 W/m²
Solar UVB ( 290 nm - 315 nm)	643 µW/cm² = 6.43 W/m²
UVA D3 regulating ( 315 nm - 335 nm)	236 µW/cm² = 2.36 W/m²
UVA (EU) ( 315 nm - 380 nm)	2960 µW/cm² = 29.6 W/m²
UVA2 (medical definition) ( 320 nm - 340 nm)	261 µW/cm² = 2.61 W/m²
UVA (US) ( 320 nm - 380 nm)	2910 µW/cm² = 29.1 W/m²
UVA1 (variant) ( 335 nm - 380 nm)	2720 µW/cm² = 27.2 W/m²
UVA1 (medical) ( 340 nm - 400 nm)	2760 µW/cm² = 27.6 W/m²
vis. UVA ( 350 nm - 380 nm)	2580 µW/cm² = 25.8 W/m²
VIS Rep3 ( 350 nm - 600 nm)	11000 µW/cm² = 110 W/m²
VIS Rep4 ( 350 nm - 700 nm)	11800 µW/cm² = 118 W/m²
purple ( 380 nm - 420 nm)	1190 µW/cm² = 11.9 W/m²
VIS ( 380 nm - 780 nm)	9630 µW/cm² = 96.3 W/m²
PAR ( 400 nm - 700 nm)	9070 µW/cm² = 90.7 W/m²
blue ( 420 nm - 490 nm)	2300 µW/cm² = 23 W/m²
green ( 490 nm - 575 nm)	2600 µW/cm² = 26 W/m²
yellow ( 575 nm - 585 nm)	2230 µW/cm² = 22.3 W/m²
orange ( 585 nm - 650 nm)	444 µW/cm² = 4.44 W/m²
red ( 650 nm - 780 nm)	868 µW/cm² = 8.68 W/m²
IRA ( 700 nm - 1400 nm)	449 µW/cm² = 4.49 W/m²
IRB ( 1400 nm - 3000 nm)	0 µW/cm² = 0 W/m²

Erythema	46.6 UV-Index
Pyrimidine dimerization of DNA	285 µW/cm²
Photoceratitis	73.6 µW/cm²
Photoconjunctivitis	2.11 µW/cm²
DNA Damage	7.4
Vitamin D3	179 µW/cm²
Photosynthesis	5850 µW/cm²
Luminosity	33100 lx
Human L-Cone	4880 µW/cm²
Human M-Cone	4230 µW/cm²
Human S-Cone	2250 µW/cm²
CIE X	4140 µW/cm²
CIE Y	4700 µW/cm²
CIE Z	3940 µW/cm²
PAR	46300000 mol photons
Extinction preD3	870 e-3*m²/mol
Extinction Tachysterol	3040 e-3*m²/mol
Exctincition PreD3	420000 m²/mol
Extinction Lumisterol	247 m²/mol
Exctincition Tachysterol	3920000 m²/mol
Extinction 7DHC	271 m²/mol
L-Cone	4160 µW/cm²
M-Cone	1500 µW/cm²
S-Cone	4650 µW/cm²
U-Cone	5770 µW/cm²
UVR - ICNIRP 2004	45.8 Rel Biol Eff
Melatonin Supression	2530 µW/cm²
Blue Light Hazard	2590 µW/cm² (78.4 µW/cm² per 1000 lx)
CIE 174:2006 PreVit D3	189 µW/cm²
Lumen Reptil	33800 "pseudo-lx"
Vitamin D3 Degradation	137 µW/cm²
Actinic UV	44.5 µW/cm² (13.5 mW/klm)
Exctincition Lumisterol	317000 m²/mol
Exctincition 7DHC	338000 m²/mol
Exctincition Toxisterols	48200 m²/mol

Solarmeter 6.2 (UVB, pre 2010)	730 µW/cm²
Solarmeter 6.5 (UV-Index, pre 2010)	50
Leybold UVB	579 µW/cm²
Leybold UVA	2000 µW/cm²
Leybold UVC	0.164 µW/cm²
DeltaOhm UVB	767 µW/cm²
DeltaOhm UVC	116 µW/cm²
Vernier UVB	239 µW/cm²
Vernier UVA	1300 µW/cm²
Gröbel UVA	2590 µW/cm²
Gröbel UVB	353 µW/cm²
Gröbel UVC	-0.0783 µW/cm²
Solarmeter 6.4 (D3)	156 IU/min
UVX-31	912 µW/cm²
IL UVB	0.3 µW/cm²
IL UVA	2700 µW/cm²
Solarmeter 6.5 (UVI, post 2010)	37.5 UV-Index
Solarmeter 6.2 (UVB, post 2010)	398 µW/cm² (Solarmeter Ratio = 10.6)
Solarmeter AlGaN 6.5 UVI sensor	450 UV Index
GenUV 7.1 UV-Index	23.3 UV-Index
Solarmeter 10.0 (Global Power)	112 W/m²
Solarmeter 4.0 (UVA)	36.5 mW/cm²
LS122	0 W/m²
ISM400	66.2 W/m²