Light Source Developments and Their Effect on the Automotive Industry 680494
Several automotive light source developments nearing commercial availability are discussed.
The use of tungsten-halogen bulbs in headlights and accessories makes possible more light and better control for high and low beam. Electroluminescent lamps are being made with improved brightness, thus making indicator signals feasible. Some fluorescent lamps are now designed to produce light at −20 F, and therefore overcome a serious handicap to their use in automobiles for interiors. Miniature bulbs can now be made with space age reliability, and high pressure arcs will one day make possible headlights of high candlepower in packages one quarter the size of present day headlights.
Finally, recent developments in electronics will make possible a central source of a -c run from the battery, thereby making the above systems feasible technically and economically.
