The key difference between infrared and ultraviolet radiation is that the wavelength of infrared radiation is longer than that of visible light, whereas the wavelength of ultraviolet radiation is shorter than the wavelength of visible light.
Infrared and ultraviolet radiation are two types of electromagnetic radiation. This means these radiation waves have an electric field and a magnetic field oscillating perpendicular to each other. There are different types of electromagnetic radiation, depending on the wavelength of the radiation.
CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Infrared Radiation
3. What is Ultraviolet Radiation
4. Side by Side Comparison – Infrared vs Ultraviolet Radiation in Tabular Form
5. Summary
What is Infrared Radiation?
Infrared radiation is a type of electromagnetic radiation having a wavelength range of 700 nm – 1 nm. Therefore, the wavelength range of this radiation is longer than that of visible light. This makes this radiation invisible to the human eye. Infrared radiation can be abbreviated as IR radiation. It begins from the red edge of the visible light. The thermal radiation emitted by an object such as the human body (near room temperature) is emitted in the form of IR radiation. Moreover, similar to all types of electromagnetic radiation, IR radiation carries a certain amount of energy, and this radiation can act as both wave and particle form. The normal frequency range for this radiation is 430 THz to 300 GHz.
Generally, IR radiation contains a spectrum of wavelengths. Thermal IR radiation also has a maximum wavelength that is proportional to the absolute temperature of the object from which the IR radiation is emitted. Some of the smaller sections of the IR radiation band include near-infrared, short wavelength-infrared, mid-wavelength-infrared, long wavelength-infrared, and far-infrared radiation. However, we can divide the band of infrared radiation in the electromagnetic spectrum into three major parts as IR-A, IR-B, and IR-C. The bands can also be named as near-IR, mid-IR and far-IR.
Figure 01: Thermal Imaging
In general, IR radiation is used as thermal radiation or heat radiation. The radiation coming from the sun accounts for 49% of IR wavelengths. This causes the heating of the Earth’s surface. Unlike the other methods of heat transfer, e.g. conduction and convection, thermal radiation can transfer heat through a vacuum. IR radiation that is emitted from human bodies is important in making the night vision equipment.
What is Ultraviolet Radiation?
Ultraviolet radiation is a type of electromagnetic radiation having a wavelength range of 10 nm – 400 nm. Therefore, it has a shorter wavelength compared to that of the visible light. We can abbreviate it as UV radiation. This wavelength range is shorter than visible range but longer than the X-ray range. The UV radiation comes with the sunlight (about 10% of the sunlight).
UV radiation is not a type of ionizing radiation, but it can cause the progression of certain chemical reactions. In addition to the sunlight, we can produce UV radiation from electric arcs or specialized lights such as mercury lamp.
Figure 02: Three Types of UV Radiation that Affect the Ozone Layer
In general, UV radiation with a short wavelength can damage the DNA of our cells. Sunburns are a common side effect of exposure to UV radiation coming from sunlight. However, some wavelengths of this radiation can cause the production of vitamin D in the skin cells.
What is the Difference Between Infrared and Ultraviolet Radiation?
Infrared and ultraviolet radiation are two types of electromagnetic radiation. The key difference between infrared and ultraviolet radiation is that the wavelength of infrared radiation is longer than that of visible light, whereas the wavelength of ultraviolet radiation is shorter than the wavelength of visible light.
Moreover, IR radiation has a frequency range of 430 THz to 300 GHz while UV radiation has a frequency range of 30 PHz to 750 THz.
Below infographic of difference between infrared and ultraviolet radiation tabulates more comparisons of both radiations.
Summary – Infrared vs Ultraviolet Radiation
Infrared and ultraviolet radiation are two types of electromagnetic radiation. The key difference between infrared and ultraviolet radiation is that the wavelength of infrared radiation is longer than that of visible light, whereas the wavelength of ultraviolet radiation is shorter than the wavelength of visible light.
Reference:
1. “Infrared Radiation | Definition, Wavelengths, & Facts”. Encyclopedia Britannica, 2020, Available here.
2. “IR Radiation – An Overview | Sciencedirect Topics”. Com, 2020, Available here.
3. “Ultraviolet”. Wikipedia.Org, 2020, Available here.
Image Courtesy:
1. “IR Girl” By Cody.pope (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Ozone altitude UV graph” By NASA – [1] (Public Domain) via Commons Wikimedia