What the heck is color temperature?
Technically, color temperature means the temperature of an ideal black body radiator at which the color of the light source and the black body are identical. (A black body is a theoretical radiator and absorber of energy at all electromagnetic wavelengths.) Thus, for a 2700K light bulb, the blackbody would be 2700 Kelvin, or approximately 4860 degrees Fahrenheit. What does this mean to a grower? A plant in nature is used to different having a cycle of light throughout its life span. Beginning in spring (fall in the southern hemisphere), the plant is subjected to many long days of light at a high temperature, usually between 5000K and 6000K. This light is very white, and somewhat bluish. Later in the plants life, it sees more and more red light, which helps it to know when to flower. The scientific reason for this is that during shorter days, the sun is not directly overhead, and due to the wavelengths of light, more blue light is bounced off the atmosphere than red light. Some people t
