Unusual Applications Of Light Measurement In Industry
Gordon Henderson · Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering/Proceedings of SPIE · 1979
Unusual light measurements are defined as those requiring a special design of instrument or a radical modification of an existing commercial instrument. The term "Industry" as used in the title has been interpreted in a liberal manner. This allows the topics dealt with to include physiological and medical applications. Topics dealt with are (i) Agriculture, horticulture and forestry - these studies involve a unit called the Einstein which is used in the measurement of photosynthetic action in plants. The spectral form of Photosynthetically Active Radiation is discussed. Other agricultural measurements discussed are the measurement of the efficiency of greenhouses and their materials and also the automatic selection of tomatoes on conveyor belts according to size and colour. (ii) Resin curing by light, both UV and visible is now widely, used in industry for bonding metals and glass. Another application is in dentistry where visible light cured resins are becoming available. (iii) Bioluminescence has been applied for some years in the study of drug action. More recently its application in the important field of anaesthesiology has shown it to be a useful indicator of the potency of anaesthetics. (iv) Phototherapy of bilirubinemia, or infant jaundice, in new born babies is now widely applied and studies are still going on to establish optimum dosage and spectral content of the irradiating lamps.