... and where does the name come from? The prefix “infra” is of Latin origin and means “below, beyond”. The word “infrared” refers to a range of electromagnetic radiation lying below the red end of the visible light spectrum. The infrared spectrum, invisible to the eye, spans the wavelength range between 780 nm and 1,000,000 nm (nanometres).
Infrared radiation is therefore electromagnetic radiation.Generally, this is understood to refer to oscillating electrical and magnetic fields that propagate with the speed of light. Electromagnetic waves differ from one another only in energy. This is expressed in the oscillation frequency or in the length of the waves. In other words, the shorter the wavelength, the more energy the electromagnetic wave possesses. Electromagnetic radiation can manifest itself in very different ways depending on the amount of energy, and then consequently has very different effects on materials and organisms.
- The spectrum of electromagnetic radiation
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