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Re: [Phys-l] Physics Grammar



Of course the dividing lines in the spectrum are to some extent arbitrary. But near IR, visible light, and near UV actually are handled by similar optical systems, while other parts of the spectum are handled by devices that would not look like a conventional camera. So calling all of these "light" is reasonable. Or how about "light like".

John M. Clement
Houston, TX

I would think that the more common usage for 'light' includes infrared through ultraviolet radiation. This certainly makes talking about the global greenhouse effect easier. I would suggest that the extension of the term may well come from the fact that there is usually considerable radiation from any visible source in the infrared, ultraviolet, or both. OTOH, we do tend to cut off the use of 'light' when by the time we get to microwaves and x-rays, so the argument then rests on the simplicity of using a single word term for the EM radiation--- microwave, infrared, light, ultra-violet, x-rays versus microwave, infrared light, visible light, ultra-violet light, and x-rays. I suspect that neither set of descriptors is likely to vanish soon!