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Light, Electromagnetic Spectrum

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Encyclopedia of Color Science and Technology

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...

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References

  1. CIE S 017/E: ILV – International Lighting Vocabulary. CIE Central Bureau, Vienna (2011)

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  2. Jenkins, F.A., White, H.E.: Fundamentals of Optics, 4th edn. McGraw-Hill, New York (1976)

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  7. Williamson, S.J., Cummins, H.: Light and Color in Nature and Art. Wiley, New York (1983)

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  8. 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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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Research Council Canada, 1200 Montreal Road, K1A OR6, Ottawa, ON, Canada

    Joanne Zwinkels

Authors
  1. Joanne Zwinkels
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Joanne Zwinkels .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Modern, Optical Instrumentation, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China

    Ming Ronnier Luo

  2. School of Design, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK

    Ming Ronnier Luo

  3. Graduate Institute of Colour and Illumination, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China

    Ming Ronnier Luo

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© 2016 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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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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