Blue or purple, Independence Point light a result of 'technical failure'

The Press has received a few calls asking about the lights at Independence Point. Why are they blue? Or purple, depending on your perception of colors. 

Most city LED lights are white. So, what's up with these? They've been that way for some time now.

We initially thought it might be a tribute to law enforcement.

That is wrong.

Then, we thought the lights might be some type of night sky/light pollution reduction effort.

That is wrong.

Perhaps some type of effort to save money on the electric bill?

Nope.

When we asked the city, officials there weren't sure, either, but did offer some links to websites with general information explaining the situation.

Here is one reason we found at engineerfix.com from December:

"The recent appearance of purple or bluish-purple streetlights across communities in the United States and Canada has become a noticeable phenomenon, prompting questions about the cause of the unusual color shift. These fixtures, which were installed to provide bright, energy-efficient white light, are unexpectedly glowing with a violet hue instead. This color change is not intentional or cosmetic, but rather a visible symptom of a specific technical failure within the lighting components. Understanding the fundamental mechanics of how these modern fixtures produce their intended white light provides the necessary context for why they are failing in this particular, highly visible way."

The article goes on to offer a long, scientific explanation that uses words like "phosphor layer," "silicone binder" and "chip-scale package" LED types.

Here is a detailed, but not too complicated, explanation:

"When the adhesion of the silicone binder weakens, the phosphor layer begins to crack, fracture, or peel away from the LED chip. As this conversion layer separates, less and less of the blue light is converted into the necessary yellow light. This allows the raw, highly concentrated blue light from the underlying diode to escape the fixture without being mixed into white."

Another source, geekyelectronics.com, puts it quite clearly: 

"Yes, when you see purple street lights, it’s almost always a manufacturing defect! These lights are designed to be white, but a specific component has failed, causing them to emit a distinct purple glow."

It adds that there is "No need to worry, purple street lights are perfectly safe! While they might look a bit unusual or be slightly dimmer, they pose no health risk or danger to drivers or pedestrians."

So, we're sorry to say there is nothing strange going on here. No phenomenon. There is no subliminal message going out to the world. The answer, from what we can tell, is just a "technical failure."

So, there you go. 

We should add, we like the blue lights. They're a nice touch.