Can you fill us in more on that software? Sounds interesting. Knowing the luminous intensity at 425/660 might be a useful comparison, but I still want to know a lot more. With this method, an spd with narrow peaks might might appear just as one with much wider spectral power. I am also indeed looking to measure outside of visible spectrum, but not 9/10 (200-900nm is enough).
Sounds like I'm operating on the assumption plants use a lot more of the spectrum than you are. Roughly 200-315nm, 430-470, 490-530, 630-690, 700, 750ish, and maybe even ~850, all have specific effects I'd like to address. The breadth across these ranges is important too. Btw, I'm not referring to, nor interested in LEDs, except for maybe the 750-850nm phytochrome flashers (just to be clear and not contaminate the thread topic).
There are other carotenoids at play too, and there's a lot more going on than what you're describing. Took me a lot of reading to even scratch the surface on this subject, but the data are there and I'm not pulling these ideas from thin air..
The function-driven spds you're suggesting are just not the way these light sources work. In fact, the graphs and numbers used for marketing by mfgs are mostly bs for several reasons, and they're hiding truth behind the famous veil of the hydro-industry (anybody want some watered down nutes at 1000x the price with cartoons on the jug?) The only reason those spds don't show sharper peaks is because the machinery is set to report rounded wavelength readings. Limiting to specific wavelengths definitely isn't my goal, and you'd be missing quite a lot with peaks at only 430/660 (and we're already missing so much using hps anyway).
Please elaborate.
pm a link? You CAN tweak a ballast to give different color results. When you increase or decrease the amount of power(watts) supplied to a bulb, the gas being excited doesn't always act the same.(remember how my peak moved back 7nm?) this is because in AC electricity, you have constants, 1st degree variables, 2nd degree variables, 3rd degree variables, to infinity(this is because time is infinite and new "degree" is formed every time the wave starts going up or down). so with there being an infinite degree of variables, one change of a variable(watts) can effect more than just the intensity of the bulb. and back to the original topic, if the manufacture takes these variables into account, a dim-able ballast can be created this way. a 1000 watt bulb when put under a 1000 watt ballast gives us a peak color temp at x. under a 600 ballast of the same brand it gives us a peak of x-7. now if i were to create dimmable ballast i have to make sure that while I'm turning that knob, all variables are being tweaked(any differences between the 1000W and 600W have to be blended in a sense.) for instance if it turns out that the voltage drop across 2 points is different in the 600W and the 1000W , this will have to be accounted for while that knob is being turned. if all the manufactures did was put a variable resistor on the initial transformer, the that will not suffice and a huge difference would be apparent as you dimmed. also i also do not agree with any manufactures claims to spectral output, i was merely showing what they advertised as good intensity across the spectrum and was pointing out how that giant peak wasn't even in the sweet spot zone.