Long Waves to Short Waves
$0.00
This diagram shows six electromagnetic waves. Each wave corresponds with a colour within the visible spectrum that an observer might recognise.
Remember that:
- Electromagnetic waves, which are a form of electromagnetic radiation, propagating from a light source, travel through space and encounter different materials.
- Colour is not a property of electromagnetic radiation, but an aspect of visual perception.
- A human observer can distinguish between colours corresponding with many thousands of wavelengths of light in the visible spectrum. These colours are often called spectral colours.
- The largest part of the electromagnetic spectrum is outside the wavelengths of visible light and so invisible to a human observer.
- Beyond red are infrared, microwaves and radio waves for example. Some radio waves have a wavelength longer than a kilometre (1000 metres).
- Beyond violet are ultraviolet, X-rays, and gamma rays for example. Some gamma rays have a wavelength of one billionth part of a metre.
- There are no properties of electromagnetic radiation that distinguish visible light from other parts of the electromagnetic spectrum.
- Objects appear to be different colours to an observer depending on the wavelengths, frequencies and amplitude of visible light at the moment it strikes the retina at the back of the eye.
Description
Long Waves to Short Waves
TRY SOME QUICK QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS TO GET STARTED
About the diagram
About the diagram
This diagram shows six electromagnetic waves. Each wave corresponds with a colour within the visible spectrum that an observer might recognize.
Remember that:
- Electromagnetic waves, which are a form of electromagnetic radiation, propagating from a light source, travel through space and encounter different materials.
- Colour is not a property of electromagnetic radiation, but an aspect of visual perception.
- A human observer can distinguish between colours corresponding with many thousands of wavelengths of light in the visible spectrum. These colours are often called spectral colours.
- The largest part of the electromagnetic spectrum is outside the wavelengths of visible light and so invisible to a human observer.
- Beyond red are infrared, microwaves and radio waves for example. Some radio waves have a wavelength longer than a kilometre (1000 metres).
- Beyond violet are ultraviolet, X-rays, and gamma rays for example. Some gamma rays have a wavelength of one billionth part of a metre.
- There are no properties of electromagnetic radiation that distinguish visible light from other parts of the electromagnetic spectrum.
- Objects appear to be different colours to an observer depending on the wavelengths, frequencies and amplitude of visible light at the moment it strikes the retina at the back of the eye.
Some key terms
Visible light is the range of wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation perceived as colour by human observers.
- Visible light is a form of electromagnetic radiation.
- Other forms of electromagnetic radiation include radio waves, microwaves, infrared, ultraviolet, X-rays, and gamma rays.
- Visible light is perceived by a human observer as all the spectral colours between red and violet plus all other colours that result from combining wavelengths together in different proportions.
- A spectral colour is produced by a single wavelength of light.
- The complete range of colours that can be perceived by a human observer is called the visible spectrum.
- The range of wavelengths that produce visible light is a very small part of the electromagnetic spectrum.
The visible part of the electromagnetic spectrum is called the visible spectrum.
- The visible spectrum is the range of wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum that correspond with all the different colours we see in the world.
- As light travels through the air it is invisible to our eyes.
- Human beings don’t see wavelengths of light, but they do see the spectral colours that correspond with each wavelength and colours produced when different wavelengths are combined.
- The visible spectrum includes all the spectral colours between red and violet and each is produced by a single wavelength.
- The visible spectrum is often divided into named colours, though any division of this kind is somewhat arbitrary.
- Traditional colours referred to in English include red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet.
The electromagnetic spectrum includes electromagnetic waves with all possible wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation, ranging from low energy radio waves through visible light to high energy gamma rays.
- There are no precisely defined boundaries between the bands of electromagnetic radiation in the electromagnetic spectrum.
- The electromagnetic spectrum includes, in order of increasing frequency and decreasing wavelength: radio waves, microwaves, infrared radiation, visible light, ultraviolet radiation, X-rays and gamma rays.
- Visible light is only a very small part of the electromagnetic spectrum.
The perception of colour by an observer results from properties of light that are visible to the human eye. The visual experience of colour is associated with terms like red, blue and yellow.
- The observation of colour depends on:
- The range and intensity of wavelengths of visible light emitted by a light source, and the various media and materials it encounters on its journey to the retina of a human eye
- Optical phenomena such as absorption, dispersion, diffraction, polarization, reflection, refraction, scattering and transmission.
- Predispositions of an observer, such as their personal and social experience, health and state of mind.
Diagrams are free to download
Downloads: Slides or Illustrations
DOWNLOAD DIAGRAMS
- SLIDES are optimized for viewing on-screen.
- ILLUSTRATIONS are optimized for printing on A4 pages in portrait format.
SLIDES
- Slides are available in JPG and AI (Adobe Illustrator) file formats.
- Titles: Slides have titles.
- Backgrounds: Black.
- Size: 1686 x 1124 pixels (3:2 aspect ratio).
ILLUSTRATIONS
- Illustrations are available in JPG and AI two file formats.
- Titles: No titles.
- Backgrounds: White.
- Size: 1686 x 1124 (3:2 aspect ratio). So all illustrations reproduce at the same scale when inserted into Word documents etc.
- Labels: Calibri 24pt Italic.
File formats: JPG & AI
DOWNLOAD THE DIAGRAM ON THIS PAGE AS A JPG FILE
- JPG (JPEG) diagrams are 1686 x 1124 pixels (3:2 aspect ratio).
- If a JPG diagram doesn’t fit your needs, you can download it as an AI (Adobe Illustrator) file and edit it yourself.
- JPG files can be placed or pasted directly into MS Office documents.
DOWNLOAD THE DIAGRAM ON THIS PAGE AS AN AI file
- All AI (Adobe Illustrator) diagrams are 1686 x 1124 pixels (3:2 aspect ratio).
- All our diagrams are created in Adobe Illustrator as vector drawings.
- Save as or export AI files to other formats including PDF (.pdf), PNG (.png), JPG (.jpeg) and SVG(.svg) etc.
Spelling: UK & US
We use English (UK) spelling by default here at lightcolourvision.org.
COPY & PASTING TEXT
- After copy/pasting text please do a spell-check to change our spelling to match your own document.
DOWNLOAD DIAGRAMS
- Download AI versions of diagrams to change the spelling or language used for titles, labels etc.
- We are adding American English (US) versions of diagrams on request. Just contact us and let us know what you need.
- When downloading JPG versions of diagrams, look out for JPG (UK) or JPG (US) in the download dialogue box.
Download agreement
DOWNLOAD AGREEMENT
Light, Colour, Vision & How To See More (https://lightcolourvision.org) : Copyright © 2015-2022 : MediaStudies Trust.
Unless stated otherwise the author of all images and written content on lightcolourvision.org is Ric Mann.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
No part of this website may be copied, displayed, extracted, reproduced, utilised, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical or otherwise including but not limited to photocopying, recording, or scanning without the prior written permission of MediaStudies Trust.
EXCEPTIONS
Exceptions to the above statement are made for personal, educational and non-profit purposes:
Before downloading, cutting and pasting or reproducing any information, images or other assets found on lightcolourvision.org we ask you to agree to the following terms:
- All information, images and other assets displayed and made available for download on the lightcolourvision.org website are copyright. This means there are limitations on how they can be used.
- All information, images and other assets displayed or made available for download are solely and exclusively to be used for personal, educational and non-profit purposes.
- When you find the resources you need, then part of the download process involves you (the user) ticking a box to let us (at lightcolourvision.org) know we both agree on how the material can be used.
- Please contact [email protected] before considering any use not covered by the terms of the agreement above.
The copyright to all information, images and all other assets (unless otherwise stated) belongs to:
The Trustees. MediaStudies Trust
111 Lynbrooke Avenue
Blockhouse Bay
Auckland 0600
New Zealand
[email protected]
We love feedback
Your name and email address will be used solely to provide you with information you have specifically requested. See our privacy policy at https://lightcolourvision.org/privacy/.
We welcome your feedback 🙂
