Electromagnetic waves are created by the interaction of magnetic and electric fields, with different frequencies and wavelengths. Visible light is in the middle of the spectrum. Light waves can travel in a vacuum and are measured by wavelength and frequency. Some forms of electromagnetic light are not visible, but can be translated by imaging machines. The colors of the visible spectrum are defined by wavelength and frequency, with red having the longest wavelength and violet the shortest. The Sun and light bulbs are sources of light, and an object’s perceived color is the result of the light wave reflected from it.
Electromagnetic light is another term for the products of electromagnetic activity. Due to the interaction of magnetic and electric fields, electromagnetic waves travel outward from their source at a variety of different frequencies and wavelengths. At the long wavelength end of the section, the waves can be used for radio and TV, while at the short wavelength end, powerful X-rays and gamma rays are created. Roughly in the middle of the electromagnetic spectrum is an area of waves visible to the human eye, known as visible light. While some forms of electromagnetic light are visible and some are not, they are all different forms of light wave.
Magnetic fields and electric fields tend to react with each other, causing a push and pull dynamic which is the origin of a light wave or electromagnetic light. Unlike other waves, light waves can travel in a vacuum. Light waves are measured by two main criteria: wavelength, which is determined by measuring the distance between two identical points in two successive waves, and frequency, which is how many waves occur in a given time interval. Longer wave electromagnetic light will have a lower frequency, while short wave electromagnetic light will have a higher frequency.
At both ends of the spectrum is a form of electromagnetic light that human eyes cannot process. These types of light waves include radio waves, infrared light, ultraviolet light, X-rays, and gamma rays. Humans have developed many forms of imaging machines that can indeed translate these forms of light into visible representation. Most human data on outer space comes from measuring and calculating electromagnetic light that humans cannot actually see.
The colors of the visible spectrum, also called the rainbow, are defined by their wavelength and frequency, just like any other electromagnetic wave. Red has the longest wavelength of any electromagnetic light, while violet has the shortest. If you look at a rainbow in the sky, the colors always appear in a specific order, even though some may be more obvious than others. Moving from top to bottom, each rainbow is red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and purple. This order corresponds to an increase in wavelength but a decrease in frequency.
Humans on Earth are very fortunate to have a huge source of light nearby – the Sun. Also, due to human innovation, there are also manufactured light sources such as light bulbs. What a human perceives as color is actually a light wave from a natural or artificial source reflected from an object. Due to composition, an object perceived as blue will reflect blue but absorb all light waves except blue, while a yellow object will reflect yellow light but absorb any other visible wavelength.
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