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White light is dispersed by a glass prism into the colors of the visible spectrum. The visible spectrum is the band of the electromagnetic spectrum that is visible to the human eye. Electromagnetic radiation in this range of wavelengths is called visible light (or simply light).
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.
When a beam of light crosses the boundary between a vacuum and another medium, or between two different media, the wavelength of the light changes, but the frequency remains constant. If the beam of light is not orthogonal (or rather normal) to the boundary, the change in wavelength results in a change in the direction of the beam.
When adapted for bright conditions (photopic vision), the eye is most sensitive to light at a wavelength of 555 nm. Light with a given amount of radiant energy will have more luminous energy if the wavelength is 555 nm than if the wavelength is longer or shorter. Light whose wavelength is well outside the visible spectrum has a luminous energy ...
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 ...
Wavelengths of commercially available lasers. Laser types with distinct laser lines are shown above the wavelength bar, while below are shown lasers that can emit in a wavelength range. The height of the lines and bars gives an indication of the maximal power/pulse energy commercially available, while the color codifies the type of laser ...
Up until the 1940s, astronomers could only use the visible and near infrared portions of the optical spectrum for their observations. The first great astronomical discoveries such as the ones made by the famous Italian polymath Galileo Galilei were made using optical telescopes that received light reaching the ground through the optical window ...
Light with the same radiant intensity at other wavelengths has a lower luminous intensity. The curve which represents the response of the human eye to light is a defined standard function y (λ) or V (λ) established by the International Commission on Illumination (CIE, for Commission Internationale de l'Éclairage ) and standardized in ...