invisible spectrum

[in-viz-uh-buhl spek-truhm]

noun

Physics.

1. the range of wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation that lie on either side of the visible spectrum and which consists of infrared and ultraviolet light.

Word History and Origins

Origin of invisible spectrum¹

First recorded in 1865–70

Example Sentences

HBO is tapping into the largely invisible spectrum of military trauma in a new documentary, “We Are Not Done Yet,” whose trailer premieres today.

Read more on Salon

A big part of the government’s job in tech policy is regulating the invisible spectrum on which our wireless gadgets rely–cellphones, radios, broadcast television, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, they all rely on spectrum to work.

Read more on Time

These measurements show the colour of plants across both the visible and invisible spectrum.

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There are substances, however, on which the violet and ultra-violet waves exert a special decomposing power; and, by permitting the invisible spectrum to fall upon surfaces prepared with such substances, we reveal both the existence and the extent of the ultraviolet spectrum.

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By special methods, not here detailed, we have at Alleghany compared the absorption, at various depths, of the sun's own atmosphere for each spectral ray, and are hence enabled to show, with approximate truth, I think for the first time, the original distribution of energy throughout the visible and invisible spectrum at the fount of that energy, in the sun itself.

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