Why does electromagnetic radiation in the ultraviolet region represent a larger energy transition than does radiation in the infrared region?

1 Answer
Jun 19, 2016

The energy associated to a photon is given by the equation

#E=h\nu#

where #E# is the energy, #h# is the Planck's constant and #\nu# is the frequency of the photon.

The electromagnetic radiation is composed by photons at a certain frequency. The ultraviolet radiation has a frequency that can range from #800# till #30000# THz.
The infrared radiation has a frequency that can range from #0.3# till #430# THz.

Then, because the Energy is proportional to the frequency, the infrared light has an energy that is lower than the ultraviolet radiation.