VISIBLE LIGHT

Definition

Visible light is just one part of the electromagnetic spectrum, which includes waves of
various lengths and frequencies. The visible light spectrum is the segment of the
electromagnetic spectrum that the human eye can view. More simply, this range of
wavelengths is called visible light. We can see a thing only when light waves from it reach our
eyes. Typically, the human eye can detect wavelengths from 380 to 700 nanometers. All
electromagnetic radiation is light, but we can only see a small portion of this radiation, the
portion we call visible light. Cone-shaped cells in our eyes act as receivers tuned to the
wavelengths in this narrow band of the spectrum. Other portions of the spectrum have
wavelengths too large or too small and energetic for the biological limitations of our
perception. As the full spectrum of visible light travels through a prism, the wavelengths
separate into the colors of the rainbow because each color is a different wavelength. The
wavelength of light waves is about halfway between the longest and the shortest wavelengths
in the electromagnetic spectrum.

Light waves make up only a tiny part of the spectrum, but there is a big variety of
wavelengths among them. Light radiation such as that from the sun is composed of every color.
When all the colors appear together, we see them as white color. Violet has the shortest
wavelength, at around 380 nanometers and has about 26,000 waves per half inch, and red has
the longest wavelength, at around 700 nanometers and about 13,000 of them cover a half inch
of space. The second longest wavelength of light is the color orange, followed by yellow, green,
and blue. When sunlight travels through drops of rainwater, the different wavelengths move at
different speeds. As a result, the various wavelengths, or colors, travel in slightly different
paths. You see these colors dispersed, or spread out, into a rainbow like band. Scientists call
this many-colored band the visible light spectrum.

https://science.nasa.gov/ems/09_visiblelight

Nagaraja,2019

https://www.livescience.com/amp/50678-visible-
light.html

Lucas,2015

Application and uses of visible light

Aside from sight, there are other important uses for visible light. We

concentrate visible light to make lasers to use in everything from surgery, to CD players to laser
pointers. Visible light waves also make our TV, computer and cell phone screens work. Visible
light is typically pretty harmless.

1. Signaling
Visible light communication (VLC) is a data communications variant which uses
visible light between 400 and 800 THz (780–375 nm). ... The technology uses
fluorescent lamps (ordinary lamps, not special communications devices) to transmit
signals at 10 kbit/s, or LEDs for up to 500 Mbit/s over short distances.
2. UV/Vis spectroscopy (spectroscopy that uses UV and Visible light)
Ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy or ultraviolet–visible spectrophotometry (UV–
Vis or UV/Vis) refers to absorption spectroscopy or reflectance spectroscopy in part of
the ultraviolet and the full, adjacent visible spectral regions.
This means it uses light in the visible and adjacent ranges.

3. Astronomy

When stargazers go outside at night to look at the sky, they see the light from
distant stars, planets, and galaxies. Light is crucial to astronomical discovery. Whether
it's from stars or other bright objects, light is something astronomers use all the time.
Human eyes "see" (technically, they "detect") visible light

4. Military applications

 Underwater communication

RF waves do not travel well in sea water because of its good conductivity. Therefore, VLC
communication should be used in underwater communication networks . The Un
Tethered Remotely Operated Vehicle (UTROV) is another application of the VLC in underwater
communication. The different jobs that can be performed using UTROV
include observatory maintenance of the oceans and deployment opportunity from the ships.

1. The right pane shows the communication of the UTROV using the optical
channel to a fixed infrastructure on the sea floor.

2. In the center, the communication is achieved by UTROV using an optical channel

with a ship based relay infrastructure.

3. The left most pane shows the communication of the UTROV using low bandwidth
underwater communications.
  Li-Fi

In 2011, Harald Haas was the first to coin the term Light Fidelity (Li-Fi) . Li-Fi is a high
speed bi-directional fully connected, visible light wireless communication system and is
analogous to Wi-Fi, which uses radio frequency for communication . The Wi-Fi signals have
the problem of interference with other RF signals such as its interference with
pilot navigational equipment signals in aircraft .
Therefore, in the areas that are sensitive to electromagnetic radiation (such as
aircrafts) Li-Fi can be a better solution. A Li-Fi also lends support to the Internet of
Things (IoT) . A speed up to 10Gbits/s is obtained using Li-Fi, which is 250 times more than
the speed of super-fast broadband.

5. Growing food (photosynthesis means plant growth, but also greenhouse effect in
greenhouses)

6. Wireless local area networks (WLANs)

LED based visible light communication can be used in setting up LANs. In , an ultra-high
speed full duplex, LAN based on star topology architecture using LED visible light
communication is proposed to provide a speed of more than 10-Gb/s and tested for massive
users. The schematic diagram of the high speed LAN is shown below. The results of the
proposed LAN revealed its potential power of offering high speed access for massive users. In ,
a 10 Mbps VLC wireless LAN system was proposed using white LEDs. The lighting system was
used for downlink and infrared light was used for up-link. The VLC wireless LAN has the
potential to be used in office buildings and hospitals, which require a high level of safety.

The VLC network schematic diagram .

 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dcan.2016.07.004Get rights and content
Under a Creative Commons license
Peer review under responsibility of Chongqing University of Posts and
Telecommunications.

© 2016 Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommuniocations.

Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V.

https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Ultraviolet–visible_spectroscopy

https://www.thoughtco.com › light-and-astronomy-3072088

Effects of visible light

Harmful Effects of Sun Exposure

1. sunburn,
2. premature skin aging,
3. skin damage, and
4. skin cancer
More than 90 percent of skin cancers are caused by sun exposure. Using tanning beds
and tanning lamps also increases the risk for skin damage and skin cancer.
The visible spectrum is the part of the electromagnetic radiation that is visible to the
human eye. While many of the photodermatology studies have focused mainly on the UV
portion of the electromagnetic radiation spectrum, as of lately, there have been more studies
on visible light.
The visible light radiation can exert various biologic effects such as
 erythema,
 pigmentation,
 thermal damage
 free radical production.
Visible light exposure can also cause or exacerbate photodermatoses such as:
 solar urticaria,
 chronic actinic dermatosis (CAD)
 cutaneous porphyrias.
Sunscreens are the mainstay treatment for these photo dermatoses, but often
sunscreens offer none to weak protection against visible light.
In the past, studies have studied the erythema development and pigmentary changes induced
by visible light. A recent study by Mahmoud et al. reported that visible light induces dark and
relatively sustained pigmentation, which has clinical relevance in the treatment of
photodermatoses as well as the need for development of filters that protect against visible
light.
https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02904798

Verified September 2016 by Iltefat Hamzavi, Henry

Ford Health System.

ADV/DIS

Disadvantages of visible light

1. Eye health problems

- the human eye can suffer from retinal injury due to overexposure to visible light. Although

some damage can heal but more serious overexposure to visible light may lead to permanent
eye damage or even blindness, some eye problem are caused by looking directly at something
too bright like the sun.

2. Film exposure problems

- visible lights affects films including those used in x-rays, film photography and movies. This
films are protected from light through their containers. Accidentally removing them from this
containers would result in exposure of the films, which would render them useless or cause
permanent damage on the supposed image that should appear on them.

3. Deterioration of materials

-Visible light can cause chemical changes to different materials, which typically result in
deterioration of their quality. Prolonged exposure to the light can result in a more weary look to
these materials -- due to how light affects a material's molecular and chemical properties. This
condition is especially evident in very old documents and photos like those historical ones
archived in museums that tend to fade over time.

https://www.techwalla.com/articles/the-disadvantages-of-visible-light

Soriano,2019

Advantages of visible light

Visible light is extremely important to humans, we use it TO SEE! Without light, our eyes
would not be able to see images of anything. Aside from sight, there are other important uses
for visible light. We concentrate visible light to make lasers to use in everything from surgery, to
CD players to laser pointers. Visible light waves also make our TV, computer and cell phone
screens work.

https://sites.google.com/site/mrjhelectromagneticspectrum/home/visibl
e-light