Difference Between Visible Light and X rays

Visible Light vs X rays

Electromagnetic spectrum is a very useful concept used in the study of physics. X-rays are a type of electromagnetic rays which are used for medical purposes. The most obvious usage of visible light is human vision. In this article, we are going to discuss what X-rays and visible light are, their definitions, applications, the production of visible light and x-rays, and finally the difference between visible light and X-rays.

X rays

X-rays are a type electromagnetic rays. Electromagnetic waves are classified into several regions according to their energy. X-rays, ultraviolet, infrared, visible, radio waves are to name a few of them. Everything we see is due to the visible region of the electromagnetic spectrum. A spectrum is the plot of intensity versus energy of the electromagnetic rays. The energy can also be represented in wavelength or frequency. The wavelength of X-rays has a range from 0.01 nanometers to 10 nanometers. By applying the equation C = f λ, where C is the speed of light in a vacuum, f is the frequency of the electromagnetic wave, and λ is the wavelength of the electromagnetic wave, we get a frequency range for X-rays from 30 petahertz (3 x 10¹⁶ Hz) to 30 exahertz (3 x 10¹⁹ Hz).

X rays are widely used in medical applications. The X-rays are used to map the interior of human body using the diffraction of X-rays. X-rays are produced by collision of a high energy electron beam with a metal. The rapid deceleration of the electrons causes high energy photons to be emitted. This is called the braking radiation. The high energy electrons also knock out bound electrons from inner energy levels. The electrons at outer energy levels transit to the lower level to stabilize the atom. This causes a characteristic emission with peaks at specific wavelengths.

Visible Light

Visible light is obviously the most useful type of electromagnetic radiation as it is the basis of human vision. Visible light gets the name from human vision itself. Visible light is divided into 7 main colors, but there are an infinite number of colors in between them. The main 7 colors are Violet, Indigo, Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange, and Red. Visible light takes a wavelength region of 390 nm – 750 nm. This wavelength range is very small compared to the range of other types of electromagnetic waves. The human eye is only capable of looking at a very narrow window of light when the whole spectrum is concerned. Visible spectrum is bordered by infrared radiation from the lower end and ultraviolet radiation from the high energy end.

What is the difference between X-rays and Visible Light?

• X rays are high energy electromagnetic waves, but visible light is medium energy electromagnetic waves.

• The visible spectrum is very narrow compared to the X-ray spectrum.

• X rays can penetrate the human body but visible light is not capable of doing that.