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What is the frequency unit of 1 Hz. What is measured in hertz and gigahertz

Siemens (symbol: Cm, S) SI unit of measurement of electrical conductivity, reciprocal of ohm. Before World War II (in the USSR until the 1960s), the Siemens was a unit of electrical resistance corresponding to resistance ... Wikipedia

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Then the clock frequency is the most known parameter. Therefore, it is necessary to deal specifically with this concept. Also, in this article, we will discuss understanding the clock speed of multi-core processors, because there are interesting nuances that not everyone knows and takes into account.

For quite a long time, developers have been betting specifically on increasing the clock frequency, but over time, the "fashion" has changed and most of the developments go to create a more advanced architecture, increase cache memory and develop multi-core, but no one forgets about the frequency.

What is the clock speed of a processor?

First you need to understand the definition of "clock frequency". The clock speed tells us how many calculations the processor can perform per unit of time. Accordingly, the higher the frequency, the more operations per unit time the processor can perform. The clock frequency of modern processors is mainly 1.0-4 GHz. It is determined by multiplying the external or base frequency by a certain factor. For example, the Intel Core i7 920 processor uses a 133 MHz bus frequency and a multiplier of 20, resulting in a clock speed of 2660 MHz.

The frequency of the processor can be increased at home by overclocking the processor. There are special processor models from AMD and Intel, which are focused on overclocking by the manufacturer, for example, the Black Edition from AMD and the K-series line from Intel.

I want to note that when buying a processor, the frequency should not be a decisive factor in your choice, because only part of the processor's performance depends on it.

Understanding clock speed (multi-core processors)

Now, in almost all market segments, there are no single-core processors left. Well, it is logical, because the IT industry does not stand still, but is constantly moving forward by leaps and bounds. Therefore, it is necessary to clearly understand how the frequency is calculated for processors that have two or more cores.

While visiting many computer forums, I noticed that there is a common misconception about understanding (calculating) the frequencies of multi-core processors. I’ll immediately give an example of this incorrect reasoning: “There is a 4-core processor with a clock frequency of 3 GHz, so its total clock frequency will be: 4 x 3 GHz = 12 GHz, right?” - No, not so.

I will try to explain why the total frequency of the processor cannot be understood as: "the number of cores X specified frequency.

I will give an example: “A pedestrian is walking along the road, his speed is 4 km / h. This is similar to a single core processor on N GHz. But if 4 pedestrians are walking along the road at a speed of 4 km / h, then this is similar to a 4-core processor on N GHz. In the case of pedestrians, we do not assume that their speed will be 4x4 = 16 km/h, we simply say: "4 pedestrians are walking at a speed of 4 km/h". For the same reason, we do not perform any mathematical operations with the frequencies of the processor cores, but simply remember that a 4-core processor is N GHz has four cores, each of which runs at a frequency N GHz".

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1 gigahertz [GHz] = 1000000000 hertz [Hz]

Initial value

Converted value

hertz exahertz petahertz terahertz gigahertz megahertz kilohertz hectohertz dekahertz decihertz centihertz millihertz microhertz nanohertz picohertz femtohertz attohertz cycles per second wavelength in exameters wavelength in petameters wavelength in terameters wavelength in gigameters wavelength in megameters wavelength in kilometers wavelength in hectometers wavelength in decameters wavelength in meters wavelength in decimeters wavelength in centimeters wavelength in millimeters wavelength in micrometers Compton electron wavelength Compton proton wavelength Compton neutron wavelength revolutions per second revolutions per minute revolutions per hour revolutions per day

Sound pressure level

More about frequency and wavelength

General information

Frequency

Frequency is a quantity that measures how often a particular periodic process is repeated. In physics, using frequency, the properties of wave processes are described. Wave frequency - the number of complete cycles of the wave process per unit of time. The SI unit of frequency is hertz (Hz). One hertz is equal to one oscillation per second.

Wavelength

There are many different types of waves in nature, from wind-driven sea waves to electromagnetic waves. The properties of electromagnetic waves depend on the wavelength. Such waves are divided into several types:

  • gamma rays with a wavelength down to 0.01 nanometer (nm).
  • X-rays with a wavelength - from 0.01 nm to 10 nm.
  • Waves ultraviolet range, which have a length of 10 to 380 nm. They are not visible to the human eye.
  • light in visible part of the spectrum with a wavelength of 380–700 nm.
  • Invisible to people infrared radiation with a wavelength from 700 nm to 1 millimeter.
  • Infrared waves are followed microwave, with a wavelength from 1 millimeter to 1 meter.
  • The longest - radio waves. Their length starts from 1 meter.

This article is about electromagnetic radiation, and especially light. In it, we will discuss how wavelength and frequency affect light, including the visible spectrum, ultraviolet and infrared radiation.

Electromagnetic radiation

Electromagnetic radiation is energy, the properties of which are simultaneously similar to those of waves and particles. This feature is called wave-particle duality. Electromagnetic waves consist of a magnetic wave and an electric wave perpendicular to it.

The energy of electromagnetic radiation is the result of the movement of particles called photons. The higher the radiation frequency, the more active they are, and the more harm they can bring to the cells and tissues of living organisms. This is because the higher the frequency of the radiation, the more energy they carry. Greater energy allows them to change the molecular structure of the substances they act on. That is why ultraviolet, x-ray and gamma radiation is so harmful to animals and plants. A huge part of this radiation is in space. It is also present on Earth, despite the fact that the ozone layer of the atmosphere around the Earth blocks most of it.

Electromagnetic Radiation and Atmosphere

The earth's atmosphere transmits only electromagnetic radiation with a certain frequency. Most of the gamma rays, X-rays, ultraviolet light, some of the infrared radiation and long radio waves are blocked by the Earth's atmosphere. The atmosphere absorbs them and does not pass further. Part of electromagnetic waves, in particular, radiation in the short-wave range, is reflected from the ionosphere. All other radiation hits the Earth's surface. In the upper atmospheric layers, that is, farther from the Earth's surface, there is more radiation than in the lower layers. Therefore, the higher, the more dangerous it is for living organisms to be there without protective suits.

The atmosphere transmits a small amount of ultraviolet light to Earth, and it causes damage to the skin. It is because of ultraviolet rays that people burn in the sun and can even get skin cancer. On the other hand, some of the rays transmitted by the atmosphere are beneficial. For example, infrared rays that hit the surface of the Earth are used in astronomy - infrared telescopes monitor the infrared rays emitted by astronomical objects. The higher from the Earth's surface, the more infrared radiation, so telescopes are often installed on mountain tops and other elevations. Sometimes they are sent into space to improve the visibility of infrared rays.

Relationship between frequency and wavelength

Frequency and wavelength are inversely proportional to each other. This means that as the wavelength increases, the frequency decreases and vice versa. This is easy to imagine: if the oscillation frequency of the wave process is high, then the time between oscillations is much shorter than for waves whose oscillation frequency is lower. If you imagine a wave on a graph, then the distance between its peaks will be the smaller, the more oscillations it makes in a certain period of time.

To determine the speed of propagation of a wave in a medium, it is necessary to multiply the frequency of the wave by its length. Electromagnetic waves in vacuum always propagate at the same speed. This speed is known as the speed of light. It is equal to 299 792 458 meters per second.

Light

Visible light is electromagnetic waves with a frequency and length that determine its color.

Wavelength and color

The shortest wavelength of visible light is 380 nanometers. It is purple, followed by blue and cyan, then green, yellow, orange, and finally red. White light consists of all colors at once, that is, white objects reflect all colors. This can be seen with a prism. The light that enters it is refracted and lines up in a strip of colors in the same sequence as in a rainbow. This sequence is from the colors with the shortest wavelength to the longest. The dependence of the speed of propagation of light in a substance on the wavelength is called dispersion.

A rainbow is formed in a similar way. Water droplets dispersed in the atmosphere after rain behave like a prism and refract each wave. The colors of the rainbow are so important that in many languages ​​there is a mnemonic, that is, a technique for remembering the colors of the rainbow, so simple that even children can remember them. Many children who speak Russian know that "Every hunter wants to know where the pheasant is sitting." Some people invent their own mnemonics, and this is a particularly useful exercise for children, as by inventing their own method of remembering the colors of the rainbow, they will remember them faster.

The light to which the human eye is most sensitive is green, with a wavelength of 555 nm in bright environments and 505 nm in twilight and darkness. Not all animals can distinguish colors. In cats, for example, color vision is not developed. On the other hand, some animals see colors much better than humans. For example, some species see ultraviolet and infrared light.

reflection of light

The color of an object is determined by the wavelength of light reflected from its surface. White objects reflect all wavelengths of the visible spectrum, while black objects, on the contrary, absorb all waves and reflect nothing.

One of the natural materials with a high dispersion coefficient is diamond. Properly cut diamonds reflect light from both the outer and inner facets, refracting it like a prism. At the same time, it is important that most of this light is reflected upward, towards the eye, and not, for example, downward, into the frame, where it is not visible. Due to the high dispersion, diamonds shine very beautifully in the sun and under artificial lighting. Glass cut like a diamond also shines, but not as much. This is due to the fact that, due to the chemical composition, diamonds reflect light much better than glass. The angles used when cutting diamonds are of the utmost importance because angles that are too sharp or too obtuse either prevent light from reflecting off interior walls or reflect light into the setting, as shown in the illustration.

Spectroscopy

Spectral analysis or spectroscopy is sometimes used to determine the chemical composition of a substance. This method is especially good if the chemical analysis of the substance cannot be carried out by working with it directly, for example, when determining the chemical composition of stars. Knowing what kind of electromagnetic radiation a body absorbs, it is possible to determine what it consists of. Absorption spectroscopy, which is one of the branches of spectroscopy, determines which radiation is absorbed by the body. Such an analysis can be done at a distance, so it is often used in astronomy, as well as in working with poisonous and dangerous substances.

Determining the presence of electromagnetic radiation

Visible light, like all electromagnetic radiation, is energy. The more energy is emitted, the easier it is to measure this radiation. The amount of radiated energy decreases as the wavelength increases. Vision is possible precisely because people and animals recognize this energy and feel the difference between radiation with different wavelengths. Electromagnetic radiation of different lengths is perceived by the eye as different colors. Not only the eyes of animals and people work according to this principle, but also technologies created by people for processing electromagnetic radiation.

visible light

Humans and animals see a wide spectrum of electromagnetic radiation. Most people and animals, for example, respond to visible light, and some animals - also on ultraviolet and infrared rays. The ability to distinguish colors is not in all animals - some see only the difference between light and dark surfaces. Our brain defines color as follows: photons of electromagnetic radiation enter the eye on the retina and, passing through it, excite the cones, the photoreceptors of the eye. As a result, a signal is transmitted through the nervous system to the brain. In addition to cones, there are other photoreceptors in the eyes, rods, but they are not able to distinguish colors. Their purpose is to determine the brightness and strength of light.

There are usually several types of cones in the eye. Humans have three types, each of which absorbs photons of light within specific wavelengths. When they are absorbed, a chemical reaction occurs, as a result of which nerve impulses with information about the wavelength enter the brain. These signals are processed by the visual cortex of the brain. This is the area of ​​the brain responsible for the perception of sound. Each type of cone is only responsible for certain wavelengths, so to get a complete picture of the color, the information received from all the cones is added together.

Some animals have even more types of cones than humans. So, for example, in some species of fish and birds there are from four to five types. Interestingly, females of some animals have more cone types than males. Some birds, such as gulls that catch prey in or on the surface of the water, have yellow or red oil droplets inside their cones that act as a filter. This helps them see more colors. The eyes of reptiles are arranged in a similar way.

infrared light

Snakes, unlike humans, have not only visual receptors, but also sensitive organs that respond to infrared radiation. They absorb the energy of infrared rays, that is, they react to heat. Some devices, such as night vision goggles, also respond to the heat generated by the infrared emitter. Such devices are used by the military, as well as to ensure the security and protection of premises and territory. Animals that see infrared light, and devices that can recognize it, see not only objects that are in their field of vision at the moment, but also traces of objects, animals, or people who were there before, if not too much has passed. a lot of time. For example, snakes can see if rodents are digging a hole in the ground, and police officers who use night vision can see if traces of a crime have recently been hidden in the ground, such as money, drugs, or something else. Devices for detecting infrared radiation are used in telescopes, as well as for checking containers and chambers for leaks. With their help, the place of heat leakage is clearly visible. In medicine, infrared images are used for diagnosis. In the history of art - to determine what is depicted under the top layer of paint. Night vision devices are used to protect premises.

ultraviolet light

Some fish see ultraviolet light. Their eyes contain a pigment that is sensitive to ultraviolet rays. The skin of fish contains areas that reflect ultraviolet light, invisible to humans and other animals - which is often used in the animal kingdom to mark the sex of animals, as well as for social purposes. Some birds also see ultraviolet light. This skill is especially important during the mating season, when birds are looking for potential partners. The surfaces of some plants also reflect ultraviolet light well, and the ability to see it helps in finding food. In addition to fish and birds, some reptiles can see UV light, such as turtles, lizards, and green iguanas (pictured).

The human eye, like the eyes of animals, absorbs ultraviolet light but cannot process it. In humans, it destroys eye cells, especially in the cornea and lens. This, in turn, causes various diseases and even blindness. Even though ultraviolet light is harmful to vision, small amounts of it are needed by humans and animals to produce vitamin D. Ultraviolet radiation, like infrared, is used in many industries, for example, in medicine for disinfection, in astronomy for observing stars and other objects. and in chemistry for the solidification of liquid substances, as well as for visualization, that is, to create diagrams of the distribution of substances in a certain space. With the help of ultraviolet light counterfeit banknotes and badges are detected if signs are to be printed on them with special inks recognizable by means of ultraviolet light. In the case of forged documents, the UV lamp does not always help, as criminals sometimes use the real document and replace the photo or other information on it, so that the markings for UV lamps remain. There are also many other uses for ultraviolet light.

color blindness

Due to visual defects, some people are unable to distinguish colors. This problem is called color blindness or color blindness, after the person who first described this feature of vision. Sometimes people can't see only colors at certain wavelengths, and sometimes they can't see colors at all. Often the cause is underdeveloped or damaged photoreceptors, but in some cases the problem is damage to the neural pathways, such as the visual cortex, where color information is processed. In many cases, this condition creates inconvenience and problems for people and animals, but sometimes the inability to distinguish colors, on the contrary, is an advantage. This is confirmed by the fact that, despite the long years of evolution, color vision is not developed in many animals. People and animals that are color blind can, for example, see well the camouflage of other animals.

Despite the benefits of color blindness, it is considered a problem in society, and the road to some professions is closed for people with color blindness. Usually they cannot get full rights to fly the aircraft without restrictions. In many countries, these people's licenses are also restricted, and in some cases they can't get a license at all. Therefore, they cannot always find a job where they need to drive a car, an airplane, and other vehicles. They also find it difficult to find a job where the ability to identify and use colors is of great importance. For example, it is difficult for them to become designers, or to work in an environment where color is used as a signal (for example, about danger).

Work is underway to create more favorable conditions for people with color blindness. For example, there are tables in which colors correspond to signs, and in some countries these signs are used in institutions and public places along with color. Some designers do not use or limit the use of color to communicate important information in their work. Instead of color, or along with it, they use brightness, text, and other ways of highlighting information so that even color blind people can fully capture the information conveyed by the designer. In most cases, people with color blindness do not distinguish between red and green, so designers sometimes replace the combination "red = danger, green = everything is fine" with red and blue. Most operating systems also allow you to adjust colors so that people with color blindness can see everything.

Color in machine vision

Machine vision in color is a rapidly growing branch of artificial intelligence. Until recently, most of the work in this area was done with monochrome images, but now more and more scientific laboratories are working with color. Some algorithms for working with monochrome images are also used for processing color images.

Application

Machine vision is used in a number of industries, such as controlling robots, self-driving cars, and unmanned aerial vehicles. It is useful in the field of security, for example, for identifying people and objects from photographs, for searching databases, for tracking the movement of objects, depending on their color, and so on. Location of moving objects allows the computer to determine the direction of a person's gaze or track the movement of cars, people, hands, and other objects.

To correctly identify unfamiliar objects, it is important to know about their shape and other properties, but color information is not so important. When working with familiar objects, color, on the contrary, helps to recognize them faster. Working with color is also convenient because color information can be obtained even from low-resolution images. Recognizing the shape of an object, unlike color, requires high resolution. Working with color instead of the shape of the subject allows you to reduce the processing time of the image, and uses less computer resources. Color helps to recognize objects of the same shape, and can also be used as a signal or a sign (for example, red is a danger signal). In this case, it is not necessary to recognize the shape of this sign, or the text written on it. There are many interesting examples of the use of color machine vision on the YouTube website.

Color Information Processing

The photos that the computer processes are either uploaded by users or taken with the built-in camera. The process of digital photography and video filming is well mastered, but the processing of these images, especially in color, is associated with many difficulties, many of which have not yet been resolved. This is due to the fact that color vision in humans and animals is very complex, and it is not easy to create human-like computer vision. Vision, like hearing, is based on adaptation to the environment. The perception of sound depends not only on the frequency, sound pressure and duration of the sound, but also on the presence or absence of other sounds in the environment. So it is with vision - the perception of color depends not only on the frequency and wavelength, but also on the characteristics of the environment. For example, the colors of surrounding objects affect our perception of color.

From an evolutionary point of view, such adaptation is necessary to help us get used to our environment and stop paying attention to insignificant elements, and direct our full attention to what is changing in the environment. This is necessary in order to more easily notice predators and find food. Sometimes optical illusions occur due to this adaptation. For example, depending on the color of the surrounding objects, we perceive the color of two bodies differently, even when they reflect light with the same wavelength. The illustration shows an example of such an optical illusion. The brown square at the top of the image (second row, second column) appears lighter than the brown square at the bottom of the image (fifth row, second column). In fact, their colors are the same. Even knowing this, we still perceive them as different colors. Since our perception of color is so complex, it is difficult for programmers to describe all these nuances in machine vision algorithms. Despite these difficulties, we have already achieved a lot in this area.

Unit Converter articles were edited and illustrated by Anatoly Zolotkov

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Length and Distance Converter Mass Converter Bulk Food and Food Volume Converter Area Converter Volume and Recipe Units Converter Temperature Converter Pressure, Stress, Young's Modulus Converter Energy and Work Converter Power Converter Force Converter Time Converter Linear Velocity Converter Flat Angle Converter thermal efficiency and fuel efficiency Converter of numbers in different number systems Converter of units of measurement of quantity of information Currency rates Dimensions of women's clothing and shoes Dimensions of men's clothing and shoes Angular velocity and rotational frequency converter Acceleration converter Angular acceleration converter Density converter Specific volume converter Moment of inertia converter Moment of force converter Torque converter Specific calorific value converter (by mass) Energy density and specific calorific value converter (by volume) Temperature difference converter Coefficient converter Thermal Expansion Coefficient Thermal Resistance Converter Thermal Conductivity Converter Specific Heat Capacity Converter Energy Exposure and Radiant Power Converter Heat Flux Density Converter Heat Transfer Coefficient Converter Volume Flow Converter Mass Flow Converter Molar Flow Converter Mass Flux Density Converter Molar Concentration Converter Mass Concentration in Solution Converter Dynamic ( Kinematic Viscosity Converter Surface Tension Converter Vapor Permeability Converter Water Vapor Flux Density Converter Sound Level Converter Microphone Sensitivity Converter Sound Pressure Level (SPL) Converter Sound Pressure Level Converter with Selectable Reference Pressure Brightness Converter Luminous Intensity Converter Illuminance Converter Computer Graphics Resolution Converter Frequency and wavelength converter Power in diopters and focal length Distance Power in Diopters and Lens Magnification (×) Electric Charge Converter Linear Charge Density Converter Surface Charge Density Converter Volumetric Charge Density Converter Electric Current Converter Linear Current Density Converter Surface Current Density Converter Electric Field Strength Converter Electrostatic Potential and Voltage Converter Electrical Resistance Converter Converter Electrical Resistance Electrical Conductivity Converter Electrical Conductivity Converter Capacitance Inductance Converter US Wire Gauge Converter Levels in dBm (dBm or dBm), dBV (dBV), watts, etc. units Magnetomotive force converter Magnetic field strength converter Magnetic flux converter Magnetic induction converter Radiation. Ionizing Radiation Absorbed Dose Rate Converter Radioactivity. Radioactive Decay Converter Radiation. Exposure Dose Converter Radiation. Absorbed Dose Converter Decimal Prefix Converter Data Transfer Typography and Image Processing Unit Converter Timber Volume Unit Converter Calculation of Molar Mass Periodic Table of Chemical Elements by D. I. Mendeleev

1 megahertz [MHz] = 0.001 gigahertz [GHz]

Initial value

Converted value

hertz exahertz petahertz terahertz gigahertz megahertz kilohertz hectohertz dekahertz decihertz centihertz millihertz microhertz nanohertz picohertz femtohertz attohertz cycles per second wavelength in exameters wavelength in petameters wavelength in terameters wavelength in gigameters wavelength in megameters wavelength in kilometers wavelength in hectometers wavelength in decameters wavelength in meters wavelength in decimeters wavelength in centimeters wavelength in millimeters wavelength in micrometers Compton electron wavelength Compton proton wavelength Compton neutron wavelength revolutions per second revolutions per minute revolutions per hour revolutions per day

Ferrofluids

More about frequency and wavelength

General information

Frequency

Frequency is a quantity that measures how often a particular periodic process is repeated. In physics, using frequency, the properties of wave processes are described. Wave frequency - the number of complete cycles of the wave process per unit of time. The SI unit of frequency is hertz (Hz). One hertz is equal to one oscillation per second.

Wavelength

There are many different types of waves in nature, from wind-driven sea waves to electromagnetic waves. The properties of electromagnetic waves depend on the wavelength. Such waves are divided into several types:

  • gamma rays with a wavelength down to 0.01 nanometer (nm).
  • X-rays with a wavelength - from 0.01 nm to 10 nm.
  • Waves ultraviolet range, which have a length of 10 to 380 nm. They are not visible to the human eye.
  • light in visible part of the spectrum with a wavelength of 380–700 nm.
  • Invisible to people infrared radiation with a wavelength from 700 nm to 1 millimeter.
  • Infrared waves are followed microwave, with a wavelength from 1 millimeter to 1 meter.
  • The longest - radio waves. Their length starts from 1 meter.

This article is about electromagnetic radiation, and especially light. In it, we will discuss how wavelength and frequency affect light, including the visible spectrum, ultraviolet and infrared radiation.

Electromagnetic radiation

Electromagnetic radiation is energy, the properties of which are simultaneously similar to those of waves and particles. This feature is called wave-particle duality. Electromagnetic waves consist of a magnetic wave and an electric wave perpendicular to it.

The energy of electromagnetic radiation is the result of the movement of particles called photons. The higher the radiation frequency, the more active they are, and the more harm they can bring to the cells and tissues of living organisms. This is because the higher the frequency of the radiation, the more energy they carry. Greater energy allows them to change the molecular structure of the substances they act on. That is why ultraviolet, x-ray and gamma radiation is so harmful to animals and plants. A huge part of this radiation is in space. It is also present on Earth, despite the fact that the ozone layer of the atmosphere around the Earth blocks most of it.

Electromagnetic Radiation and Atmosphere

The earth's atmosphere transmits only electromagnetic radiation with a certain frequency. Most of the gamma rays, X-rays, ultraviolet light, some of the infrared radiation and long radio waves are blocked by the Earth's atmosphere. The atmosphere absorbs them and does not pass further. Part of electromagnetic waves, in particular, radiation in the short-wave range, is reflected from the ionosphere. All other radiation hits the Earth's surface. In the upper atmospheric layers, that is, farther from the Earth's surface, there is more radiation than in the lower layers. Therefore, the higher, the more dangerous it is for living organisms to be there without protective suits.

The atmosphere transmits a small amount of ultraviolet light to Earth, and it causes damage to the skin. It is because of ultraviolet rays that people burn in the sun and can even get skin cancer. On the other hand, some of the rays transmitted by the atmosphere are beneficial. For example, infrared rays that hit the surface of the Earth are used in astronomy - infrared telescopes monitor the infrared rays emitted by astronomical objects. The higher from the Earth's surface, the more infrared radiation, so telescopes are often installed on mountain tops and other elevations. Sometimes they are sent into space to improve the visibility of infrared rays.

Relationship between frequency and wavelength

Frequency and wavelength are inversely proportional to each other. This means that as the wavelength increases, the frequency decreases and vice versa. This is easy to imagine: if the oscillation frequency of the wave process is high, then the time between oscillations is much shorter than for waves whose oscillation frequency is lower. If you imagine a wave on a graph, then the distance between its peaks will be the smaller, the more oscillations it makes in a certain period of time.

To determine the speed of propagation of a wave in a medium, it is necessary to multiply the frequency of the wave by its length. Electromagnetic waves in vacuum always propagate at the same speed. This speed is known as the speed of light. It is equal to 299 792 458 meters per second.

Light

Visible light is electromagnetic waves with a frequency and length that determine its color.

Wavelength and color

The shortest wavelength of visible light is 380 nanometers. It is purple, followed by blue and cyan, then green, yellow, orange, and finally red. White light consists of all colors at once, that is, white objects reflect all colors. This can be seen with a prism. The light that enters it is refracted and lines up in a strip of colors in the same sequence as in a rainbow. This sequence is from the colors with the shortest wavelength to the longest. The dependence of the speed of propagation of light in a substance on the wavelength is called dispersion.

A rainbow is formed in a similar way. Water droplets dispersed in the atmosphere after rain behave like a prism and refract each wave. The colors of the rainbow are so important that in many languages ​​there is a mnemonic, that is, a technique for remembering the colors of the rainbow, so simple that even children can remember them. Many children who speak Russian know that "Every hunter wants to know where the pheasant is sitting." Some people invent their own mnemonics, and this is a particularly useful exercise for children, as by inventing their own method of remembering the colors of the rainbow, they will remember them faster.

The light to which the human eye is most sensitive is green, with a wavelength of 555 nm in bright environments and 505 nm in twilight and darkness. Not all animals can distinguish colors. In cats, for example, color vision is not developed. On the other hand, some animals see colors much better than humans. For example, some species see ultraviolet and infrared light.

reflection of light

The color of an object is determined by the wavelength of light reflected from its surface. White objects reflect all wavelengths of the visible spectrum, while black objects, on the contrary, absorb all waves and reflect nothing.

One of the natural materials with a high dispersion coefficient is diamond. Properly cut diamonds reflect light from both the outer and inner facets, refracting it like a prism. At the same time, it is important that most of this light is reflected upward, towards the eye, and not, for example, downward, into the frame, where it is not visible. Due to the high dispersion, diamonds shine very beautifully in the sun and under artificial lighting. Glass cut like a diamond also shines, but not as much. This is due to the fact that, due to the chemical composition, diamonds reflect light much better than glass. The angles used when cutting diamonds are of the utmost importance because angles that are too sharp or too obtuse either prevent light from reflecting off interior walls or reflect light into the setting, as shown in the illustration.

Spectroscopy

Spectral analysis or spectroscopy is sometimes used to determine the chemical composition of a substance. This method is especially good if the chemical analysis of the substance cannot be carried out by working with it directly, for example, when determining the chemical composition of stars. Knowing what kind of electromagnetic radiation a body absorbs, it is possible to determine what it consists of. Absorption spectroscopy, which is one of the branches of spectroscopy, determines which radiation is absorbed by the body. Such an analysis can be done at a distance, so it is often used in astronomy, as well as in working with poisonous and dangerous substances.

Determining the presence of electromagnetic radiation

Visible light, like all electromagnetic radiation, is energy. The more energy is emitted, the easier it is to measure this radiation. The amount of radiated energy decreases as the wavelength increases. Vision is possible precisely because people and animals recognize this energy and feel the difference between radiation with different wavelengths. Electromagnetic radiation of different lengths is perceived by the eye as different colors. Not only the eyes of animals and people work according to this principle, but also technologies created by people for processing electromagnetic radiation.

visible light

Humans and animals see a wide spectrum of electromagnetic radiation. Most people and animals, for example, respond to visible light, and some animals - also on ultraviolet and infrared rays. The ability to distinguish colors is not in all animals - some see only the difference between light and dark surfaces. Our brain defines color as follows: photons of electromagnetic radiation enter the eye on the retina and, passing through it, excite the cones, the photoreceptors of the eye. As a result, a signal is transmitted through the nervous system to the brain. In addition to cones, there are other photoreceptors in the eyes, rods, but they are not able to distinguish colors. Their purpose is to determine the brightness and strength of light.

There are usually several types of cones in the eye. Humans have three types, each of which absorbs photons of light within specific wavelengths. When they are absorbed, a chemical reaction occurs, as a result of which nerve impulses with information about the wavelength enter the brain. These signals are processed by the visual cortex of the brain. This is the area of ​​the brain responsible for the perception of sound. Each type of cone is only responsible for certain wavelengths, so to get a complete picture of the color, the information received from all the cones is added together.

Some animals have even more types of cones than humans. So, for example, in some species of fish and birds there are from four to five types. Interestingly, females of some animals have more cone types than males. Some birds, such as gulls that catch prey in or on the surface of the water, have yellow or red oil droplets inside their cones that act as a filter. This helps them see more colors. The eyes of reptiles are arranged in a similar way.

infrared light

Snakes, unlike humans, have not only visual receptors, but also sensitive organs that respond to infrared radiation. They absorb the energy of infrared rays, that is, they react to heat. Some devices, such as night vision goggles, also respond to the heat generated by the infrared emitter. Such devices are used by the military, as well as to ensure the security and protection of premises and territory. Animals that see infrared light, and devices that can recognize it, see not only objects that are in their field of vision at the moment, but also traces of objects, animals, or people who were there before, if not too much has passed. a lot of time. For example, snakes can see if rodents are digging a hole in the ground, and police officers who use night vision can see if traces of a crime have recently been hidden in the ground, such as money, drugs, or something else. Devices for detecting infrared radiation are used in telescopes, as well as for checking containers and chambers for leaks. With their help, the place of heat leakage is clearly visible. In medicine, infrared images are used for diagnosis. In the history of art - to determine what is depicted under the top layer of paint. Night vision devices are used to protect premises.

ultraviolet light

Some fish see ultraviolet light. Their eyes contain a pigment that is sensitive to ultraviolet rays. The skin of fish contains areas that reflect ultraviolet light, invisible to humans and other animals - which is often used in the animal kingdom to mark the sex of animals, as well as for social purposes. Some birds also see ultraviolet light. This skill is especially important during the mating season, when birds are looking for potential partners. The surfaces of some plants also reflect ultraviolet light well, and the ability to see it helps in finding food. In addition to fish and birds, some reptiles can see UV light, such as turtles, lizards, and green iguanas (pictured).

The human eye, like the eyes of animals, absorbs ultraviolet light but cannot process it. In humans, it destroys eye cells, especially in the cornea and lens. This, in turn, causes various diseases and even blindness. Even though ultraviolet light is harmful to vision, small amounts of it are needed by humans and animals to produce vitamin D. Ultraviolet radiation, like infrared, is used in many industries, for example, in medicine for disinfection, in astronomy for observing stars and other objects. and in chemistry for the solidification of liquid substances, as well as for visualization, that is, to create diagrams of the distribution of substances in a certain space. With the help of ultraviolet light counterfeit banknotes and badges are detected if signs are to be printed on them with special inks recognizable by means of ultraviolet light. In the case of forged documents, the UV lamp does not always help, as criminals sometimes use the real document and replace the photo or other information on it, so that the markings for UV lamps remain. There are also many other uses for ultraviolet light.

color blindness

Due to visual defects, some people are unable to distinguish colors. This problem is called color blindness or color blindness, after the person who first described this feature of vision. Sometimes people can't see only colors at certain wavelengths, and sometimes they can't see colors at all. Often the cause is underdeveloped or damaged photoreceptors, but in some cases the problem is damage to the neural pathways, such as the visual cortex, where color information is processed. In many cases, this condition creates inconvenience and problems for people and animals, but sometimes the inability to distinguish colors, on the contrary, is an advantage. This is confirmed by the fact that, despite the long years of evolution, color vision is not developed in many animals. People and animals that are color blind can, for example, see well the camouflage of other animals.

Despite the benefits of color blindness, it is considered a problem in society, and the road to some professions is closed for people with color blindness. Usually they cannot get full rights to fly the aircraft without restrictions. In many countries, these people's licenses are also restricted, and in some cases they can't get a license at all. Therefore, they cannot always find a job where they need to drive a car, an airplane, and other vehicles. They also find it difficult to find a job where the ability to identify and use colors is of great importance. For example, it is difficult for them to become designers, or to work in an environment where color is used as a signal (for example, about danger).

Work is underway to create more favorable conditions for people with color blindness. For example, there are tables in which colors correspond to signs, and in some countries these signs are used in institutions and public places along with color. Some designers do not use or limit the use of color to communicate important information in their work. Instead of color, or along with it, they use brightness, text, and other ways of highlighting information so that even color blind people can fully capture the information conveyed by the designer. In most cases, people with color blindness do not distinguish between red and green, so designers sometimes replace the combination "red = danger, green = everything is fine" with red and blue. Most operating systems also allow you to adjust colors so that people with color blindness can see everything.

Color in machine vision

Machine vision in color is a rapidly growing branch of artificial intelligence. Until recently, most of the work in this area was done with monochrome images, but now more and more scientific laboratories are working with color. Some algorithms for working with monochrome images are also used for processing color images.

Application

Machine vision is used in a number of industries, such as controlling robots, self-driving cars, and unmanned aerial vehicles. It is useful in the field of security, for example, for identifying people and objects from photographs, for searching databases, for tracking the movement of objects, depending on their color, and so on. Location of moving objects allows the computer to determine the direction of a person's gaze or track the movement of cars, people, hands, and other objects.

To correctly identify unfamiliar objects, it is important to know about their shape and other properties, but color information is not so important. When working with familiar objects, color, on the contrary, helps to recognize them faster. Working with color is also convenient because color information can be obtained even from low-resolution images. Recognizing the shape of an object, unlike color, requires high resolution. Working with color instead of the shape of the subject allows you to reduce the processing time of the image, and uses less computer resources. Color helps to recognize objects of the same shape, and can also be used as a signal or a sign (for example, red is a danger signal). In this case, it is not necessary to recognize the shape of this sign, or the text written on it. There are many interesting examples of the use of color machine vision on the YouTube website.

Color Information Processing

The photos that the computer processes are either uploaded by users or taken with the built-in camera. The process of digital photography and video filming is well mastered, but the processing of these images, especially in color, is associated with many difficulties, many of which have not yet been resolved. This is due to the fact that color vision in humans and animals is very complex, and it is not easy to create human-like computer vision. Vision, like hearing, is based on adaptation to the environment. The perception of sound depends not only on the frequency, sound pressure and duration of the sound, but also on the presence or absence of other sounds in the environment. So it is with vision - the perception of color depends not only on the frequency and wavelength, but also on the characteristics of the environment. For example, the colors of surrounding objects affect our perception of color.

From an evolutionary point of view, such adaptation is necessary to help us get used to our environment and stop paying attention to insignificant elements, and direct our full attention to what is changing in the environment. This is necessary in order to more easily notice predators and find food. Sometimes optical illusions occur due to this adaptation. For example, depending on the color of the surrounding objects, we perceive the color of two bodies differently, even when they reflect light with the same wavelength. The illustration shows an example of such an optical illusion. The brown square at the top of the image (second row, second column) appears lighter than the brown square at the bottom of the image (fifth row, second column). In fact, their colors are the same. Even knowing this, we still perceive them as different colors. Since our perception of color is so complex, it is difficult for programmers to describe all these nuances in machine vision algorithms. Despite these difficulties, we have already achieved a lot in this area.

Unit Converter articles were edited and illustrated by Anatoly Zolotkov

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