nanometers nm
Light As with auditory stimuli, light travels in waves. The compression waves that compose sound must travel in a mediuma gas, a liquid, or a solid. In contrast, light is composed of electromagnetic waves and needs no medium; light can travel in a vacuum Figure 36.16 . The behavior of light can be discussed in terms of the behavior of waves and also in terms of the behavior of the fundamental unit of lighta packet of electromagnetic radiation called a photon. A glance at the electromagnetic spectrum shows that visible light for humans is just a small slice of the entire spectrum, which includes radiation that we cannot see as light because it is below the frequency of visible red light and above the frequency of visible violet light. Certain variables are important when discussing perception of light. Wavelength which varies inversely with frequency manifests itself as hue. Light at the red end of the visible spectrum has longer wavelengths and is lower frequency , while light at the violet end has shorter wavelengths and is higher frequency . The wavelength of light is expressed in nanometers nm ; one nanometer is one billionth of a meter. Humans perceive light that ranges between approximately 380 nm and 740 nm. Some other animals, though, can detect wavelengths outside of the human range. For example, bees see near-ultraviolet light in order to locate nectar guides on flowers, and some non-avian reptiles sense infrared light heat that prey gives off .