As the frequency is increased, the perceived color gradually changes from red to orange to yellow to green to blue to violet. The eye doesn't perceive violet so well. It always seems to look dark compared to other sources at equal intensity. Somewhere between 700 THz and 800 THz the world goes dark again.
The amplitude of a wave tells us about the intensity or brightness of the light relative to other light waves of the same wavelength. Both Wave 1 and Wave 2 have the same wavelength but different amplitudes. The wavelength of light is an important property for it is this that determines the nature of the light.
Explanation:
The wavelength and the intensity of light are not directly related. The wavelength is directly related to the energy of the light—shorter wavelengths are higher energy and longer wavelengths are lower energy. (This is why ultraviolet, x-ray, and gamma-ray light can be harmful, causing sunburns or cancers, while radio waves and infrared light aren’t usually a big deal.)
A bit over a century ago it was thought that the intensity of the light would determine the amount of energy it carried, so it was thought that a very bright red lightbulb would have more energy than a very dim blue light bulb. But it turned out that is not the case. The photoelectric effect is the phenomenon where shining a light on metal can cause the metal to eject free electrons, related to how solar panels work (the photovoltaic effect). But in the late 1800s & early 1900s, it was discovered that it wasn’t how bright the lightbulb was that determined the electrons ejected from the metal, it was the color of the lightbulb.
The brightness is the intensity, whereas the color is the wavelength. So you can make light with any wavelength you want, and make it more or less intense by making it brighter or dimmer. This is why the two aren’t really related to one another.
Answers & Comments
Answer:
As the frequency is increased, the perceived color gradually changes from red to orange to yellow to green to blue to violet. The eye doesn't perceive violet so well. It always seems to look dark compared to other sources at equal intensity. Somewhere between 700 THz and 800 THz the world goes dark again.
The amplitude of a wave tells us about the intensity or brightness of the light relative to other light waves of the same wavelength. Both Wave 1 and Wave 2 have the same wavelength but different amplitudes. The wavelength of light is an important property for it is this that determines the nature of the light.
Explanation:
The wavelength and the intensity of light are not directly related. The wavelength is directly related to the energy of the light—shorter wavelengths are higher energy and longer wavelengths are lower energy. (This is why ultraviolet, x-ray, and gamma-ray light can be harmful, causing sunburns or cancers, while radio waves and infrared light aren’t usually a big deal.)
A bit over a century ago it was thought that the intensity of the light would determine the amount of energy it carried, so it was thought that a very bright red lightbulb would have more energy than a very dim blue light bulb. But it turned out that is not the case. The photoelectric effect is the phenomenon where shining a light on metal can cause the metal to eject free electrons, related to how solar panels work (the photovoltaic effect). But in the late 1800s & early 1900s, it was discovered that it wasn’t how bright the lightbulb was that determined the electrons ejected from the metal, it was the color of the lightbulb.
The brightness is the intensity, whereas the color is the wavelength. So you can make light with any wavelength you want, and make it more or less intense by making it brighter or dimmer. This is why the two aren’t really related to one another.