Under nitrous oxide it’s possible to get unfathomably absorbed in the color and material of the reflector and the scratch patterns on the lens and the brand name of the light and even the color of the letters and the font………
But you don’t get nitrous for a routine cleaning and anyway I don’t need it anymore. When I was younger I would bring my Walkman (later Discman) to the dentist, breathe in lungfuls of "sweet air" and go on a magic carpet ride.
Now I do it naturally and avoid the N2O hangover on the trip to the office.
Looking up at the word BELMONT, I thought of the Belmont Stakes, Dion and the Belmonts, the Belmont Tavern, and the town of Belmont, Mass., just outside Boston, where I went to college. Before I knew it, it was time to rinse and be on my way.
Later I googled Belmont dental lights and found the manufacturer, Belmont Equipment of–well whaddya know?–Somerset, New Jersey.
I felt that strange swell of pride which has often overcome me–an East Orange native, born in Jersey City–since I came to work for New Jersey Monthly almost two years ago.
Perusing the Belmont website I concluded that the light in my dentist’s office was a Belmont Clesta with a 65 watt tungsten halogen bulb emitting light at a color temperature of 5,000 degrees Kelvin, the equivalent of white daylight.
Not life-changing information, I admit. Still, I was glad to know it. Even better was finding out why the reflector is that crinkly Tutankhamenesque gold. It filters out infrared rays and dissipates heat. It is called a dichroic-coated reflector.
As Wikipedia explains it…
Used behind a light source, dichroic reflectors commonly reflect visible light forward while allowing the invisible infrared light (radiated heat) to pass out of the rear of the fixture, resulting in a beam of light that is "cooler".
Clicking on the Wiki link to "dichroic" got me this…
The original meaning of dichroic, from the Greek dikhroos, two-coloured, refers to any optical device which can split a beam of light into two beams with differing wavelengths.
What a fascinating experience it was having my teeth cleaned. In six months I get to do it again.
BY THE WAY:
Since you’ve come this far, I assume you like Plain Sight, so I’d like to invite you to the opening reception for the photography show I’m in now through September 21.
There are five other photographers in the show, all interesting.
The party is Saturday, Aug 9, 5-10 pm at Andy Foster’s Gallery 51 at 51 Church Street, Montclair. gallery51.org.
Thank you gift for anyone who mentions Plain Sight.
What I’m showing in the show…
Nine 16×20 pictures on the wall, from "Twisted Golf" and other series, plus more than 130 different 8×10 prints in portfolios on the table, from "Edible Complex," "Vehicular," "Nature Boy" and other series. Many of which first appeared in Plain Sight.