“Let there be light.”
Scientists and biblical scholars agree on at least one thing: in the beginning, it was dark. Then something happened, a spark, a nudge. In the blink of an eye, a cosmic explosion of unequalled magnitude filled the universe with light.
Why start a blog about light? And specifically the language of light?
Scientist Howard Malmstadt, as quoted by Dick Foth in his book A Trip Around the Sun, talks about the essential nature of light:
“Light is one of the foundations of the universe. The speed of light is the constant in Einstein’s general theory of relativity, E=mc2. The most precise measurement for distance is the wavelength. So contractors who build roads use laser transits. Every element on the chart of elements that we study in high school science absorbs or fluoresces light at a different rate. Uniquely, if cadmium is hit with light, it emits what is called the cadmium redline. That is the basis for the atomic clock.”
Malmstadt went on: “Any farmer knows that the food chain is based on photosynthesis. Without light, you have no vegetation. Without vegetation you can’t have animals or humans.”
“Without light there is no color. There is no rainbow. No spectacular Hawaiian sunsets. No aurora borealis. When the lights are out in the Louvre in Paris, you won’t see Mona Lisa’s smile.”
Light, then, has been an essential component of history from the very beginning of time. It affects us at every moment of every day, even when we cannot see it or feel it.
And now, more than ever, we need to know how to get the most out of light. Unparalleled technological change and a volatile market mean the lighting industry is in upheaval. Never before has it been so easy to make an expensive mistake that will last for decades. Yet there is enormous potential for improving our lives with light, if we only know how to do it.
Getting the most out of the essential element of Light is what this blog is all about.
the language of light 
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