Spectrum - what is it? Its definition and application

The article reveals the notion of "spectrum": what is it, what kind of species is it, where it is applied. The visible and unobservable ranges of electromagnetic oscillations are described . Are shown the areas of life that develop due to the science of spectra - spectroscopy.

Visible to the human world

The human eye is a miracle of nature, the apex of evolution. All kinds of living beings perceive the world in their own way. We also got the role of spectators. Psychologists say that up to ninety percent of information our brain perceives through colors and shades. Since vision is so important, it is worth to answer the question: "Spectrum - what is and what role plays in human life?" Surely even the smallest readers have heard a simple little thing about the rainbow: "Every hunter wants to know where the pheasant is sitting". The first letters of this simple expression suggest the order of the names of colors. Thus, most people are available colors from red to purple. All that the human eye perceives is a combination and illumination of these shades. However, we do not see all parts of the spectrum. We can only see the visible range. He is so called precisely because the eyes of our species, homo sapiens, are perceived by him. It is noteworthy that some people see a little more - for example, in the near infrared or ultraviolet region. It is said that the first is more often available to women, and the second - to men.

The concept of spectrum

So, the distribution of the value of a certain quantity is the spectrum. What is this concept, now we will understand. Suppose a person brings a lot of food from a store. The easiest of them is a chicken egg, the heaviest is a chicken carcass. The spectrum of mass of the brought purchases lies between these two limits. And if we weigh each product separately and compile a table, how much and how much is in the bag, we get the full mass spectrum.

Electromagnetic spectrum

But most often we have in mind another aspect of the concept of "spectrum." What is meant by this, we will reveal below. Our world is ruled by electromagnetic waves. You can talk about their nature for hours, but we will not be distracted. We recall only that they are generated by moving charged particles. The scale of electromagnetic waves includes much more than the spectrum of colors that our eyes can see. Radio waves, infrared radiation, ultraviolet, X-rays and even more so gamma radiation - all this is not available to our immediate perception. Imagine if a person were able to fix, "see", for example, wy-fay, or a radio signal in the car, or body temperature. It seems incredible that this is possible. The world would be very different, people know that. However, there are beings on our planet who perceive the surrounding space in this way, for example, snakes or cockroaches.

Types of spectrum

Surely many people, after reading the previous paragraph, will ask themselves: "Spectrum - what is it? Is it only electromagnetic waves?" The answer is simple: no. What will be discussed below has some relation to statistics, but let the reader not be frightened, for nothing complicated is assumed. So, if there is any quantity that is capable of taking certain discrete values in the lower and upper limits, then a spectrum is possible for it. What it might be for the magnitude is not at all important. It does not even need to be a computable type of size or volume. This may seem unbelievable, but in everyday life, such a thing occurs at every step. Mom cooks well forty-three dishes - this is her culinary spectrum. The child reads from two to ten books a month - this is the range of the number of books read. But all the printed publications determine the spectrum of human knowledge. Dad drinks only cherry and watermelon juices, and this is his range of drinks. As you can see, the concept is used very widely. Even if a person is standing in front of a counter with ice cream, then this is the spectrum of his choice. Not to mention the daily options for action, due to personal experience and morality.

Types of optical spectrum

Speaking of electromagnetic waves, we touched upon such a concept as the spectrum of colors. However, everything is not so simple. The usual color of the object determines how much wavelength the photon is reflected from its surface. But any solid body, in addition to external faces, also has an internal structure that is hidden in its volume. It is the spectra that helps determine it. But in this case, not the photons, but the particles of the substance itself. And these fluctuations, or rather their spectrum, inform everything about the connections within the structure. To see or somehow record such information without special devices is impossible.

Application of optical spectra

However, the scope of these spectra is truly unlimited. There is a separate branch of physical knowledge devoted to their study and application. Biology, crystallography, nuclear energy, exploration and exploration of outer space could not have reached a modern level, if humanity had not had a wonderful way to explore the world - spectroscopy. Even medicine knows examples of the use of such tools as spectrum. The determination of the chemical composition of blood and plasma will tell you which elements are missing in the body. You can identify many diseases in the early stages. This is especially important for cancer and multiple sclerosis.