Let me rephrase the question – Do we call the Visible Spectrum that because that’s what we can see or is there something different about that part of electromagnetic spectrum (ES) that allow vision to occur. Alternately, If light is dual in nature, being both a wave and a particle, is that the same for other parts of the ES?
Which brings me to the question that I’m most curious about; would it be possible for a creature exist that can see, the same way we see, but using frequencies from other areas of the ES?
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Visible light is just what we can see. Other animals can see other wavelength. Bees for example can see UV, and if you look at a flower through UV, you’ll be able to see patterns directing your eye to the center of the flower (where the pollen is).
I was actually listening to something on the radio the other day and apparently more animals can see in UV than can’t. Humans are a weird exception. There’s also animals that can see infrared, and some animals, like dogs, can’t distinguish between red and green.
Once you get into UV-C and above, light becomes ionizing radiation, meaning it has enough energy to knock electrons off of atoms. This is when it becomes dangerous.
Once you get down into microwaves, it because hard to distinguish the cosmic microwave background. Static on the radio is thr aftermath of the big bang.
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