Q. Why are the colors in a rainbow continuous?
When sunlight hits a raindrop, the red light waves are bent at an angle of 42 degrees from their original direction from the sun. The other colored light frequencies are bent at angles in between these two. This is why we see rainbows as a continuous band of colors with red on top and violet on the bottom.
Q. Why can we see visible light but not other electromagnetic waves?
The reason that the human eye can see the spectrum is because those specific wavelengths stimulate the retina in the human eye. If we move beyond the visible light region toward longer wavelengths, we enter the infrared region; if we move toward shorter wavelengths, we enter the ultraviolet region.
Q. Can humans see all types of light waves?
The human eye can only see visible light, but light comes in many other “colors”—radio, infrared, ultraviolet, X-ray, and gamma-ray—that are invisible to the naked eye. On one end of the spectrum there is infrared light, which, while too red for humans to see, is all around us and even emitted from our bodies.
Q. Why do different colors have different wavelengths?
We see different wavelengths of light as different colors because they are associated to different wavelength, which activates different cells in the retina. You can try to answer the question from another perspective, such as why a red surface is red, but that is another story.
Q. Does red light travel further than blue?
The individual components of light are called the spectrum. Blue light has a short wavelength; red light a longer wavelength. Because at these times sunlight travels further through the atmosphere than at other times of the day, blue light is scattered more.
Q. Is violet or red light faster?
Violet travels the slowest so it is on the bottom and red travels the fastest so is on the top. This is because what is called the index of refraction, (the ratio of the speed of light in a vacuum to the speed of light in a material), is increased for the slower moving waves (i.e. violet).
Q. What is the difference between white light and blue or red light?
On one end of the spectrum is red light, with the longest wavelength. Blue or violet light has the shortest wavelength. White light is a combination of all colors in the color spectrum. For example, a red wagon looks red because it reflects red light and absorbs blue and green light.
Q. Which type of light has the highest frequency?
Gamma rays
Q. How do you determine an electromagnetic wave?
To detect the electric fields, use a conducting rod. The fields cause charges (generally electrons) to accelerate back and forth on the rod, creating a potential difference that oscillates at the frequency of the EM wave and with an amplitude proportional to the amplitude of the wave.
Q. Which types of electromagnetic wave are visible?
The Visible Spectrum Visible light is the light that we can see, and thus is the only light detectable by the human eye. White light is visible light, and it contains all the colors of the rainbow, from red to violet. The range of visible wavelengths is 400 to 700 nanometers.
Q. Which electromagnetic waves are the longest?
Radio waves, infrared rays, visible light, ultraviolet rays, X-rays, and gamma rays are all types of electromagnetic radiation. Radio waves have the longest wavelength, and gamma rays have the shortest wavelength. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
