I already know that visible light is only a tiny fraction of the electromagnetic spectrum, and just after that comes UV radiation, since its wavelength is shorter and thus frequency is higher. My question is: if you can ONLY see visible light, then why can you often see UV light as purple? Isn’t it supposed to be invisible? I’m referring to those commercial torches that emit UV (and purple) light.
In: Physics
The electromagnetic spectrum is vast and humans only see a small portion of it, which we call visible light.
The visible light range is:
Infrared <—| Red – Orange – Yellow – Green – Cyan – Blue – Violet |—> Ultra Violet
As you can see violet is right next to the Ultra Violet range. Humans can’t see Ultra Violet, but the lamps we buy are imperfect (perhaps by design) and some of the light is released in the visible violet light range.
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