When you first think about it, fog lights can seem like an unnecessary detail on a vehicle. Your car comes equipped with a full exterior light system that has plenty of fixtures more powerful than that weak, yellowish fog light – so what’s the point? No matter what you might think off-hand, however, your Nissan Maxima Fog Light is incredibly important in keeping your car safe and visible. The key fact to remember is that the fog lights on your Nissan Maxima are engineered to provide a service your headlights, taillights, and turn signals cannot: your fog lights are designed specifically to provide visibility in the unique conditions of fog.

The reason for this is tied to the yellow color you likely associate with your fog lights. The bright white light color of common headlights is useless in foggy conditions.

This phenomenon is related to the fact that white light is actually comprised of all colors of light – and when your white headlights encounter fog, the various wavelengths of your visible light scatter diffusely due to the water droplets of the fog. This phenomenon is called dispersion. In short, white light is useless in fog because the many wavelengths (light colors) present in its makeup will disperse due to the water droplets, neutralizing the light’s effect. So how does your Nissan Maxima Fog Light work differently? Though light wavelengths are at an incredible disadvantage when fog is present, colors of light with long wavelengths are preferable, as these wavelengths do not scatter as much as do short wavelengths.Yellow, in addition to being a color of light human eyes are particularly sensitive to, has a notably long wavelength and is thus the optimal color for a car’s fog light.