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[2] [3] In physics, the term "light" may refer more broadly to electromagnetic radiation of any wavelength, whether visible or not. [4] [5] In this sense, gamma rays, X-rays, microwaves and radio waves are also light. The primary properties of light are intensity, propagation direction, frequency or wavelength spectrum, and polarization.
The phenomenon is studied in condensed matter physics, solid state, and quantum chemistry to draw inferences about the properties of atoms, molecules and solids. The effect has found use in electronic devices specialized for light detection and precisely timed electron emission.
Photoexcitation is the first step in a photochemical process where the reactant is elevated to a state of higher energy, an excited state.The first law of photochemistry, known as the Grotthuss–Draper law (for chemists Theodor Grotthuss and John W. Draper), states that light must be absorbed by a chemical substance in order for a photochemical reaction to take place.
A white light source—emitting light of multiple wavelengths—is focused on a sample (the pairs of complementary colors are indicated by the yellow dotted lines). 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 ...
In this case, the electrons will absorb the energy of the light wave and increase their energy state, often moving outward from the nucleus of the atom into an outer shell or orbital. The atoms that bind together to make the molecules of any particular substance contain a number of electrons (given by the atomic number Z in the periodic table ).
An example of spectroscopy: a prism analyses white light by dispersing it into its component colors. Spectroscopy is the field of study that measures and interprets electromagnetic spectra . [ 1 ] [ 2 ] In narrower contexts, spectroscopy is the precise study of color as generalized from visible light to all bands of the electromagnetic spectrum.
Atomic, molecular, and optical physics (AMO) is the study of matter–matter and light–matter interactions, at the scale of one or a few atoms [1] and energy scales around several electron volts. [2]: 1356 [3] The three areas are closely interrelated.
Optics is the branch of physics that studies the behaviour and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of instruments that use or detect it. [1] Optics usually describes the behaviour of visible , ultraviolet , and infrared light.