The word "angel" brings to mind a vision of an ethereal figure with a lighted circlet hovering over its head--a halo. Halo lights, however can be used to describe lighting for buildings, vehicles, hair, in photography and even in reference to the video game Halo. The following is a description of each.
Recessed lighting, commonly found in buildings to light specific work areas (such as in kitchens) can be termed as a halo light because of the reflective rim housing that surrounds the bulb. The rims, or halos, bounce the light off of themselves, creating brighter luminaries with less energy. An advanced use of halo lighting is in conjunction with LED (light emitting diode) bulbs that are more energy efficient and sustainable (up to 11 years per bulb) than incandescent or fluorescent bulbs, thus are less expensive for commercial buildings, such as restaurants and hotels to maintain over time.
Halo lights for vehicles are also called "projector headlights". These halogen lights produce higher-output, than stock, factory headlights. Style upgrade attracts many people to the purchase of halo lights for their vehicles, but good lighting is also a main safety feature. Halo lights provide sharper light with more road coverage. Not difficult to install, they are usually hooked up to the vehicle's parking lights. They come in a variety of colors, most popularly chrome and black.
Hairdressers use various techniques to highlight hair, ranging from hidden color to full head coverage. Halo lights are a form of highlighting that segregates hair at the top of the head in a T-shape pattern and bleaches just those strands for a soft, glowing halo-like look around the client's face.
Night-time photography can produce areas of overexposure that look like bright circles. These are called "halo lights" by professional photographers, and can be troublesome to get rid of, or can enhance the art of the photograph.
The video game "Halo" is one of the more popular games for Xbox because of its high-intensity gameplay and brilliant graphics. The experience of Halo is now enhanced by HDR (high-dynamic range) lighting, which gives game players more of a feeling of actually being part of the game because the lighting gives more tonal detail than traditional video game lighting. Since the HDR lighting used in Halo 3 simulates reality when Halo's lights get bright, such as in daylight, the game player may have to squint or wear sunglasses.
