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An overview of absorption of electromagnetic radiation.This example shows the general principle using visible light as a specific example. 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).
Other photons transmit unaffected and, if the radiation is in the visible region (400–700 nm), the sample color is the complementary color of the absorbed light. By comparing the attenuation of the transmitted light with the incident, an absorption spectrum can be obtained.
The spectral colors from red to violet are divided by the notes of the musical scale, starting at D. The circle completes a full octave, from D to D. Newton's circle places red, at one end of the spectrum, next to violet, at the other. This reflects the fact that non-spectral purple colors are observed when red and violet light are mixed.
Leaves change color in the fall because their chromophores (chlorophyll molecules) break down and stop absorbing red and blue light. [1] A chromophore is a molecule which absorbs light at a particular wavelength and reflects color as a result. Chromophores are commonly referred to as colored molecules for this reason.
Magenta is variously defined as a purplish-red, reddish-purple, or a mauvish–crimson color. On color wheels of the RGB and CMY color models, it is located midway between red and blue, opposite green. Complements of magenta are evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 500–530 nm.
The absorption of electromagnetic radiation by water depends on the state of the water. The absorption in the gas phase occurs in three regions of the spectrum. Rotational transitions are responsible for absorption in the microwave and far-infrared , vibrational transitions in the mid-infrared and near-infrared .
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.
In the physical sciences, the term spectrum was introduced first into optics by Isaac Newton in the 17th century, referring to the range of colors observed when white light was dispersed through a prism. [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 ...