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Monochromatic radiation can be produced by a number of methods. Isaac Newton observed that a beam of light from the sun could be spread out by refraction into a fan of light with varying colors; and that if a beam of any particular color was isolated from that fan, it behaved as "pure" light that could not be decomposed further.
Monochromatic in science means consisting of a single wavelength of light or other radiation (lasers, for example, usually produce monochromatic light), or having or appearing to have only one color (in comparison to polychromatic).
A rainbow is a decomposition of white light into all of the spectral colors. Laser beams are monochromatic light, thereby exhibiting spectral colors. A spectral color is a color that is evoked by monochromatic light, i.e. either a spectral line with a single wavelength or frequency of light in the visible spectrum, or a relatively narrow spectral band (e.g. lasers).
Monochromacy (from Greek mono, meaning "one" and chromo, meaning "color") is the ability of organisms to perceive only light intensity without respect to spectral composition. Organisms with monochromacy lack color vision and can only see in shades of grey ranging from black to white. Organisms with monochromacy are called monochromats.
Light usually has multiple frequencies that sum to form the resultant wave. Different frequencies undergo different angles of refraction, a phenomenon known as dispersion. A monochromatic wave (a wave of a single frequency) consists of successive troughs and crests, and the distance between two adjacent crests or troughs is called the ...
In dichromacy, the unique hues can be evoked by exciting only a single cone at a time, e.g. monochromatic light near the extremes of the visible spectrum. A dichromatic color space can also be defined by non-unique hues, but the color space will not contain the individual's entire gamut.
However, if a monochromatic light is used to illuminate the work piece, such as helium, low-pressure sodium, or a laser, then a series of dark and light interference fringes will form. These interference fringes determine the flatness of the work piece, relative to the optical flat, to within a fraction of the wavelength of the light.
They appear even when using monochromatic light, hence the name. Chromatic aberrations are caused by dispersion, the variation of a lens's refractive index with wavelength. Because of dispersion, different wavelengths of light come to focus at different points. Chromatic aberration does not appear when monochromatic light is used.