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Re: [APD] Re: ah supply reflectors
Shiny aluminum looks great but stinks for reflecting fluorescent lights
(except for the far blue and UV).
The AH reflectors are shiny aluminum, but with a dielectric overcoating
that raises reflectivity dramatically from the original 85% that is
typical for pure aluminum. Roof flashing and other non-dead-soft alloys
are probably a worse.
The screwing you get with aluminum is probably worse than the simple 15%
loss, as quite a bit of useful light may involve hitting the reflector
more than once in most designs.
Hey, it is better than white paint, but not really a lot. The aluminum
tapes I have tried are quite a lot worse than plain polished Al, BTW.
If you want to line a hood I suggest you find some of the silvered mylar
materials that feature reflectivity well over 95%. 3M Silverlux was once
discontinued, but I still see variations on it for sale around the web.
Forget plain aluminum or aluminum tape, if you want efficiency. You can
likely do better with potato-chip bags or cut-up CDs.
Wright
PS. If I was using twin-tube T-5 CFs, I would not hesitate to buy the AH
reflectors. They are cheaper than anything I have tried that was
comparable, and a pretty decent optical design. [Not ideal for
single-tube T-8s tho.]
--
Wright Huntley - Rt. 001 Box K36, Bishop CA 93514 - whuntley at verizon_net
760 872-3995
...frontier society offered 'the most civilized type of association'
because it had 'the absolute minimum of external regulation' and
therefore 'the maximum of voluntary civility and morality.'
------ Isabel Paterson
http://www.libertarianism.com/
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