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drbeanie2000_gw

Diamonds and crystal don't 'sparkle' unless incandescent?

drbeanie2000
11 years ago

Is it just me? Or are there parts of the EM spectrum that are missing such that diamonds and/or crystal don't "sparkle" in places that use non-incandescent light?

I'm still not over my 2-year-old diamond engagement ring. (Blushes.) I like to look at it in sunlight, at the theater, under incandescent lights, and basically just anywhere. I don't see the sparkliness under CFL's or LED's. Likewise with crystal chandeliers, which are prominent in public places. They seem not to cast the same colors and patterns under these conditions as they did when they were incandescent.

Is this a real effect, or is it the result of general cluelessness about lighting? I do know a bit about radiative transfer and the spectrum, by the way. Comes with being an astronomer.

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