The range of electromagnetic waves that humans can detect with their eyes is called?

The range of electromagnetic waves that humans can detect with their eyes is called?

• A. Ultraviolet
• B. Visible Light
• C. Gamma Rays
• D. Infrared

Answer: (B)

Humans detect a specific slice of the electromagnetic spectrum with their eyes, called visible light. This range is where our photoreceptor cells in the retina—cones for color and rods for brightness—respond, roughly from about 380 to 750 nanometers. Wavelengths outside this band aren’t seen: shorter wavelengths like ultraviolet have more energy and can damage tissue; longer wavelengths like infrared we feel as heat but don’t see as color; gamma rays are highly energetic and require special detectors. Because the eye responds specifically to this band, the correct term for what we can detect visually is visible light.

Humans detect a specific slice of the electromagnetic spectrum with their eyes, called visible light. This range is where our photoreceptor cells in the retina—cones for color and rods for brightness—respond, roughly from about 380 to 750 nanometers. Wavelengths outside this band aren’t seen: shorter wavelengths like ultraviolet have more energy and can damage tissue; longer wavelengths like infrared we feel as heat but don’t see as color; gamma rays are highly energetic and require special detectors. Because the eye responds specifically to this band, the correct term for what we can detect visually is visible light.