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Longer-wavelength radiation such as visible light is nonionizing; the photons do not have sufficient energy to ionize atoms. Throughout most of the electromagnetic spectrum, spectroscopy can be used to separate waves of different frequencies, so that the intensity of the radiation can be measured as a function of frequency or wavelength.
Upon striking the sample, photons that match the energy gap of the molecules present (green light in this example) are absorbed, exciting the molecules. Other photons are scattered (not shown here) or transmitted unaffected; if the radiation is in the visible region (400–700 nm), the transmitted light appears as the complementary color (here ...
For low-frequency radiation (radio waves to near ultraviolet) the best-understood effects are those due to radiation power alone, acting through heating when radiation is absorbed. For these thermal effects, frequency is important as it affects the intensity of the radiation and penetration into the organism (for example, microwaves penetrate ...
Absorptions bands in the Earth's atmosphere created by greenhouse gases and the resulting effects on transmitted radiation.. In spectroscopy, an absorption band is a range of wavelengths, frequencies or energies in the electromagnetic spectrum that are characteristic of a particular transition from initial to final state in a substance.
As noted above, even low-frequency thermal radiation may cause temperature-ionization whenever it deposits sufficient thermal energy to raise temperatures to a high enough level. Common examples of this are the ionization (plasma) seen in common flames, and the molecular changes caused by the " browning " during food-cooking, which is a ...
[1] [2] Soon the term referred to a plot of light intensity or power as a function of frequency or wavelength, also known as a spectral density plot. Later it expanded to apply to other waves, such as sound waves and sea waves that could also be measured as a function of frequency (e.g., noise spectrum, sea wave spectrum).
The visible spectrum is defined as that visible to humans, but the variance between species is large. Not only can cone opsins be spectrally shifted to alter the visible range, but vertebrates with 4 cones (tetrachromatic) or 2 cones (dichromatic) relative to humans' 3 (trichromatic) will also tend to have a wider or narrower visible spectrum ...
Optical radiation is the part of the electromagnetic spectrum with wavelengths between 100 nm and 1 mm. [1] [2] This range includes visible light, infrared light, and part of the ultraviolet spectrum. [3] Optical radiation is non-ionizing, [4] and can be focused with lenses and manipulated by other optical elements.