Light
- What is it?!
The visible white light that the human eye can see is made up of lots of wavelengths from the visible region of the ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM. This diagram of the visible spectrum shows the wavelengths that colours are seen at. The Ultraviolet regions is below 400nm and this is the other part of the spectrum that we are concerned with.
This
picture shows some coloured samples from a laboratory. UV-visible spectroscopy
is important in determining what is in these solutions.
White light can be split into its constituent wavelengths/colours by being passed through a prism
The prism is an important component of the UV-visible spectrometer. It separates light into individual wavelengths that then pass through the sample.
Raindrops
act as prisms when sunlight passes through them and a rainbow is produced.
On the next page we talk about what colour is and how it comes about.
