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GCSE Physics · key term
Electromagnetic radiation immediately beyond violet in the spectrum, with a shorter wavelength and higher frequency than visible light.
Used by Edexcel
Specification 5.22 · Paper 1
Revise: Uses of Visible Light and UltravioletVisible light and ultraviolet are both electromagnetic waves. Visible light is the limited range of electromagnetic radiation that our eyes can detect. Ultraviolet, usually shortened to UV, lies just beyond the violet end of the visible spectrum, so human eyes cannot see it.
For a question asking you to describe a use, name the radiation, state the application and explain what the radiation does. For example: ultraviolet is absorbed by security ink, which fluoresces and becomes visible.
Do not say that ultraviolet itself is the visible glow. In fluorescence, ultraviolet is absorbed and visible light is then emitted.
A UV lamp does not automatically prove that a banknote is genuine: it reveals fluorescent security features whose appearance can be compared with the expected pattern.
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