Principles of Environmental Science 7th Edition by William Cunningham,Mary Cunningham

تمرين 9

Which wavelengths do our eyes respond to, and why? (Refer to fig) About how long are short ultraviolet wavelengths compared to microwave lengths?

FIGURE The electromagnetic spectrum. Our eyes are sensitive to visible-light wavelengths, which make up nearly half the energy that reaches the earth's surface (represented by the area under the "solar radiation" curve). Photosynthesizing plants use the most abundant solar wavelengths (light and infrared). The earth reemits lower-energy, longer wavelengths (shown by the "terrestrial radiation" curve), mainly the infrared part of the spectrum.