Comments by "ke6gwf - Ben Blackburn" (@ke6gwf) on "Retroreflectors; they're everywhere, and they cheat physics (sort of)" video.

  1. Too many toasters got crushed by garage doors, and so they had to change away from simply using reflectors
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  2.  @rocbolt  that's the same kind of tape on the trains, and for the same reasons, as it's found all over semi trailers. It's called Conspicuity Tape, and can be found at most building supply, hardware and auto parts stores, and is useful for everything from making your car more visible, to decorating mail boxes to making your own reflective signs!
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  3.  @2ManyGoats  I notice that the inset lane marker reflectors these /tend to be much less visible, and usually only for a short window, than in a car, probably because the height of our headlights and eyes is a greater factor of distance away than raised roadside, or overhead signs.
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  4. The reason garage doors don't simply use a reflector anymore (they used to) is because too many toasters got crushed because they are shockingly also reflective! Polished car rims, trailers with conspicuity (the red and white reflective tape) tape on them, bikes, construction workers with reflective pants cuffs, and various other scenarios where people complained to the door manufacturers or sued them because the door didn't stop, and so they changed to the thru-beam style that pretty much makes it very hard to trick the door into closing, now requiring AT LEAST 2 shiny toasters, or possibly up to 4.
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  5. Truck driver here. I notice that the lane divider markers are much less visible, and tend to only reflect for a short window of distance in a truck. When you think about the angles involved with them being so low, compared to a roadside sign etc, it makes sense. But also, different styles and companies reflect differently, so some roads I can see the Morse code for miles, and others just a few feet in front of the truck where my eyes and headlight align with the reflector, but before it cuts off at the edge of the corner cube. You may think that we may have a harder time seeing signs because our eyes are higher, but you have to remember that our headlights are higher also, and I don't think the angle is really much greater between the outgoing and reflected light for a roadside sign, as compared to a car, where both lights and driver are lower. And we are higher into the sweat spot for overhead signs. It's just surface reflectors that suck lol I have noticed the red reverse side to freeway reflectors, sometimes on new road work you will see where one got out on backwards! One time I was driving down this road, and they ALL were on backwards! It was quite odd... All the other drivers seemed to be confused by it too, all driving the wrong way... (/joke) It's always cool when I am driving away from the setting sun under just the right conditions, and all the red side reflectors on the opposite side of the road are on fire from the sunlight. Speaking of corner cubes, in your surveyor stock footage, not a single corner cube appeared lol They were using GPS units... APOLOGIZE!!
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