What's the difference between light that we can see and light that we cannot see?
The “wavelengths” of light are different.
When you drive a car at night, you sometimes drive with high beams. Have you ever felt like high beams were too bright? There does exist, on the other hand, light that is invisible to our eyes. What is the difference between light that we can see with our eyes and light that we cannot? ThreeBond R&D staff will explain.
Light is one type of “electromagnetic wave”
Light is, in fact, an “electromagnetic wave.” There are several types of electromagnetic waves, and there are many found around us.
Types of electromagnetic waves
･ Gamma rays: Treatment of cancer
･ X-rays: X-ray pictures
･ Ultraviolet rays: Sterilization of slippers
･ Visible light: Visible light such as that produced by lights
･ Infrared rays: Heating appliances
･ Microwaves: Microwave ovens
･ Radio waves: Television, radio
Among these, “ultraviolet (UV),” “visible light,” and “infrared (IR)” are all called “light.” Sunlight contains these three types of light.
Light has the properties of a “wave”
Electromagnetic waves have the properties of “waves,” as the term suggests. In other words, light also has the properties of a wave. The distance between waves is called a “wavelength,” and depending on the length of wavelengths, there is light we can see with our eyes and light we cannot.
Visible and invisible light
Let’s get into more detail.
To review what we talked about earlier, the three following types of light are included within sunlight.
･Ultraviolet (UV) light
･Visible light
･Infrared (IR) light
The light that feels bright when you look at the sun is visible light. “Blue light,” which we hear a lot about these days, is also one part of visible light. Other infrared (IR) and ultraviolet (UV) rays are referred to as invisible light beams. These are divided up according to the wavelength of the light.
The reason your skin gets dark and sunburned in the summer is because of the “ultraviolet (UV) rays” you’ve heard about. It is light we cannot see. However, by adjusting the intensity of the light, it does serve as useful when it comes to hardening adhesives and hardening gel nails. It’s interesting to think about what kind of light affects our daily lives.