Synonyms
Light – Light stimulus, Optical radiation, Electromagnetic radiation; Electromagnetic spectrum – Optical spectrum
Definitions
Light is so much a part of our everyday existence contributing to our quality of life, as well as a key enabler in photonics, solar power, and new lighting technologies, that the year 2015 has been declared by the UNESCO as the International Year of Light and Lighting Technologies.
Light has many different meanings depending upon the application.
When it is used to broadly describe optical radiation, it is defined as electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths between approximately 10 nm and 1 mm, i.e., a term that is used to describe the ultraviolet, visible, and infrared regions of the electromagnetic spectrum.
When it is used to describe a light stimulus, the International Lighting Vocabulary [1] gives the following two definitions: (1) It is a characteristic of all sensations and perceptions that is specific to vision, and (2) it is radiation that...
References
CIE S 017/E: ILV – International Lighting Vocabulary. CIE Central Bureau, Vienna (2011)
Jenkins, F.A., White, H.E.: Fundamentals of Optics, 4th edn. McGraw-Hill, New York (1976)
Overheim, R.D., Wagner, D.L.: Light and Color. Wiley, New York (1982)
Shurcliff, W.E.: Polarized Light: Production and Use. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA (1962)
Ciddor, P.E.: Refractive index of air: new equations for the visible and near infrared. Appl. Optics 35, 1566–1573 (1996)
Stern, F.: In: Seitz F., Turnbull D. (eds.): Elementary theory of the optical properties of solids. Solid State Physics, vol. 15. Academic, New York, pp 301–304 (1963)
Williamson, S.J., Cummins, H.: Light and Color in Nature and Art. Wiley, New York (1983)
Falk, D., Brill, D., Stork, D.: Seeing the Light: Optics in Nature, Photography, Color, Vision, and Holography. Harper & Rowe Publishers, New York (1986)
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Zwinkels, J. (2016). Light, Electromagnetic Spectrum. In: Luo, M.R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Color Science and Technology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-8071-7_204
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