The Basic Strobe Light
One of the most basic emergency warning lights, the strobe light is used by many local law enforcement and first responder agencies in order to provide extra visibility for emergency vehicles. Strobe lights have been around since the early 1930s, and were originally used to capture photographs of moving objects including bullets in midair, glass being broken with a hammer, and the behavior of droplets falling into a larger mass of water. These iconic photos were the work of Harold “Doc” Edgerton, one of the founders of what today is known as the URS Corporation. Strobe light technology was used to capture images of the first atomic tests, and the company that Edgerton founded supported the work of the Atomic Energy Commission for many years afterwards.
Xenon flash lamps are generally used in strobe lights due to their ability to produce intense short bursts of light rapidly. However, these lamps require colored filters in order to produce colored lights, in contrast to modern LED lights, and tend to run extremely hot with prolonged use. Additionally, xenon flash lamps have a relatively short bulb life, making them a relatively expensive choice. While LED lights typically do not flash as rapidly as xenon flash bulbs can, they offer significant advantages for strobe light applications in terms of operating temperature, initial cost, and bulb replacement.
Strobe lights are an effective way of attracting attention and alerting the public to the presence of official vehicles. However, some strobe lights can also present significant hazards to certain sensitive individuals, since they can provoke epileptic seizures in those who suffer from the disease. For this reason most strobe lights are manufactured to careful factory specifications in order to limit the number of flashes per second; ten to twelve flashes per second is generally considered safe for all but the most sensitive epileptic sufferers. In order to avoid such reactions, most modern emergency vehicles restrict strobe light usage to short bursts and only use one or two strobe lights on the vehicles; this minimizes the risk to the public while still providing the beneficial visibility effects of strobe lighting for the vehicle. For additional information and advice on how to incorporate strobe lights into your vehicle’s emergency lighting, contact the friendly and professional staff at Extreme Tactical Dynamics; they can offer expert advice on all types of tactical lights and gear for your agency’s specific needs.
