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General Introduction
polychromatic (characterized by many wavelengths). The term ‘wavelength’ denominates the
distance between two adjacent crests of the wave’s successive troughs and crests. The term
‘spectrum’ of the radiation denominates the distribution of energy among the various
constituent waves (cf., Pedrotti & Pedrotti 1993). The radiation types include, following their
frequency and differences in the way they are produced or detected: radio waves, microwaves,
infrared radiation, visible light, ultraviolet radiation, X-rays and gamma rays (cf., Hecht 2001;
Tipler 2004). The visible part of the electromagnetic spectrum (fig. A1) implies just a narrow
range of electromagnetic waves, i.e. from approximately 380 to 770 nm.
Fig. A1 The electromagnetic spectrum. The electromagnetic
spectrum with indications of wavelengths, frequency and radiation
types. The visible spectrum is marked as the area between 380 nm to
770 nm; the letters give the visible colours V-iolet, B-lue, G-reen, Yellow,
O-range and R-ed (from Pedrotti & Pedrotti 1993).
These waves are capable of producing visual sensation in the human eye; thus they are
referred to as ‘light’. The visible spectrum includes the range of colours from red (long-
wavelength end) to violet (short-wavelength end) and is neighboured by the infrared and the
ultraviolet region, respectively. These three regions (visible light, infrared and ultraviolet)
together form the ‘optic spectrum’ (cf., Pedrotti & Pedrotti 1993). Fig. A2 gives the
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