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Light: The Visible Spectrum and Beyond
A visual exploration of the power and behavior of light, across the electromagnetic spectrum, and how it affects life on earth and everything in the Universe. Light allows us to see everything around us, but humans can only see a sliver of all light, known as the electromagnetic spectrum. Here, Kim Arcand and Megan Watzke present the subject of light as never before. Organized along the order of the electromagnetic spectrum, each chapter focuses on a different type of light. From radio waves, harnessed for telecommunications, to X-rays, which let us peer inside the human body and view areas around black holes in deep space, Arcand and Watzke show us all the important ways light impacts us. An introductory chapter describes what light is and how it behaves, while hundreds of full-color photographs and illustrations demonstrate concepts and make for a stunning book that's a joy to read and browse.
208 pages, Hardcover
First published November 10, 2015
14 people are currently reading
866 people want to read
About the author
Kimberly K. Arcand
4 books47 followersKim was working in biology and public health when she was hired for a job with NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory in 1998. Since she always wanted to be an astronaut when she was little, this opportunity got Kim close to the cosmos but without the hazards of a long distance commute. Today, Kim uses data to tell stories about science, whether in the form of a 3D model of an exploded star, a tweet about how fireflies glow, or a book about light. Kim's latest book "Magnitude: The Scale of the Universe," ( Magnitude: The Scale of the Universe) co-authored with Megan Watzke will be out November 7, 2017!
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
March 17, 2022
Disclaimer! I am a materials engineer working in the field of optical technologies.
In "Light: The Visible Spectrum and Beyond", I expected to see some nice images and read about the basics of light with very simple explanations of complicated stuff. However, my critical thinking turned on from the very first page and started questioning every sentence. So, with this review, I invite you to the journey along the curves of my brain, where I try to disprove something but, along the way, manage to convince myself otherwise. Let's start!
- "This book is not bioluminescent. What I mean by that is that this book is not giving off any light." [introduction by Jake Roper (Vsauce3)]. Bioluminescence means that a living organism emits light. The book is not a living organism, so it cannot be bioluminescent even if it somehow could emit light. "You are able to read these words because of a light source like a lamp or the sun." [introduction] Neither the lamp nor the sun are bioluminescent, but they give off light. It feels like the two cited statements contradict each other.
- "A key property of light is its wavelength, or the distance between the crests." [p. 12] It doesn't need to be the crests. Wavelength is the shortest distance between two parts of the wave moving in phase. So, it can as well be the distance between the bottoms.
- "Alpha Centauri is located about four light years away from Earth. This means that even if we could build a spacecraft that could travel anywhere close to the speed of light, it would take many years just to reach it and then the same amount of time to get back." [p. 13] Many? 4 or a bit more is not many. If the spacecraft is traveling at the speed of light and the distance is 4 light years, it would take 4 years to travel that distance. Even if the speed would be 90% of the speed of light (I think it is quite "close"), it would still take less than 4.5 years.
- "The rainbow is usually broken down into six colors most human eyes can detect: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet (some also include indigo between blue and violet, though that is less common)." [p. 20] I was taught in school in Lithuania that the rainbow is broken down into 7 colors: six already mentioned plus cyan between green and blue. Even to this day I remember the sentence that helped to know the order of the colors: raudonai, o gal žaliai, žydi marių vandenai. Does the American rainbow have only 6 colors? But this is not a thing of a language and naming stuff. It is a thing of physics. I wonder how this difference happened. But I was also taught that the rainbow has as many colors as you can see in it. I once saw a rainbow consisting only of color red.
- "This process happens for all the food at once, unlike in conventional ovens that need to have the heat move from the outside of the food to the center." [p. 52] So why sometimes my food in the microwave has a cold center, but the edges are fine already?
- "All light follows what is known as the law of reflection, which says that the angle of the incoming ray will be the same as the angle of the outgoing ray." [p. 78] If I read English correctly, this sentence implies that the incoming ray depends on the outgoing ray, which is not true. It is vice versa. First, you have an incoming ray at a certain angle. It reaches the surface and gets reflected: you have an outgoing ray at the same angle.
- "While Röntgen didn't get his name attached to the form of light he discovered, the "röntgen" is a unit scientists use to measure radiation." [p. 136] Fun fact, in Lithuanian, X-rays are called Rentgeno spinduliai (literally Röntgen's rays).
And now, the last, but far from the least (actually, the most substantial):
- "The electromagnetic spectrum is the range of all light that exists." [introduction] Oh boy, I had many thoughts on that throughout the book... When I (and probably many others) think about light, I think about visible light. As a physicist, I also consider ultraviolet and infrared to be light. But there are also gamma rays. I have never heard them being called light, but they are in the electromagnetic spectrum. Have you ever heard that a microwave oven heats food using light? Me neither, but microwaves are still the same electromagnetic waves, thus by this book's definition they are light. It seems that Kimberly K. Arcand and Megan Watzke decided to use a very loose definition of light and wrote about all electromagnetic spectrum.
- Generally, electromagnetic spectrum is divided into these parts: radio waves, microwaves, infrared light, visible light, ultraviolet light, X-rays, gamma rays. Notice that only part of it has the word "light" in the name? Others are just waves or rays. However, everything is a convention: if you agree to use the definitions in some way, that might be true until someone convinces you otherwise. Could light be defined as something we could use for imaging? Visible, infrared, X-rays fit this description. But so do electrons in scanning electron microscopy. Those definitely aren't light. However, we can use almost any physical quantity to make an image as long as we do enough measurements and set a certain color for a certain numerical value.
- Laser - light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation. Maser - microwave amplification by stimulated emission of radiation. If all electromagnetic radiation is light, then why do we need different terms? Instead of a maser, we could have a microwave laser (in comparison to a blue laser, a green laser, a UV laser, etc.). "It was later that more applications were found for visible light, which is why the "l" took over the "m" in the acronym that now serves as a common noun." [p. 53] Ok, so maybe there are microwave lasers, but I still think that they are more commonly called masers.
- At work, one of the techniques I use is spectroscopic ellipsometry. It is an optical method and the ellipsometer I use works with a light source (lamp) with spectrum from deep ultraviolet through visible to near-infrared. But there are also THz ellipsometers (terahertz corresponds to parts of microwaves and infrared). So, the technique, which I associate with light, uses part of the electromagnetic spectrum, which is not so widely considered as light.
- I guess now I consider all electromagnetic spectrum as light.
This book has a lot of beautiful images, but the text is a bit repetitive: one concept is written in the main text and when it is repeated (usually on the same page) in a figure caption. Also, I don't like the paper of this book. It is too shiny, all fingerprints are visible. The glue in the spine does not hold well, all the pages are not connected to it anymore. Luckily, some threads still hold everything together (until they decide to snap).
For the general reader, this book is quite good in showing the capabilities of light. For the researchers, not so much. They probably already know everything.
-----
2022-ųjų skaitymo iššūkis
Pagrindinis iššūkis
9. Knyga, kurios puslapių skaičius tarp 202-222 psl.
Knygoje yra 208 puslapiai.
19. Dviejų autorių knyga
Knygą prašė Kimberly K. Arcand ir Megan Watzke.
In "Light: The Visible Spectrum and Beyond", I expected to see some nice images and read about the basics of light with very simple explanations of complicated stuff. However, my critical thinking turned on from the very first page and started questioning every sentence. So, with this review, I invite you to the journey along the curves of my brain, where I try to disprove something but, along the way, manage to convince myself otherwise. Let's start!
- "This book is not bioluminescent. What I mean by that is that this book is not giving off any light." [introduction by Jake Roper (Vsauce3)]. Bioluminescence means that a living organism emits light. The book is not a living organism, so it cannot be bioluminescent even if it somehow could emit light. "You are able to read these words because of a light source like a lamp or the sun." [introduction] Neither the lamp nor the sun are bioluminescent, but they give off light. It feels like the two cited statements contradict each other.
- "A key property of light is its wavelength, or the distance between the crests." [p. 12] It doesn't need to be the crests. Wavelength is the shortest distance between two parts of the wave moving in phase. So, it can as well be the distance between the bottoms.
- "Alpha Centauri is located about four light years away from Earth. This means that even if we could build a spacecraft that could travel anywhere close to the speed of light, it would take many years just to reach it and then the same amount of time to get back." [p. 13] Many? 4 or a bit more is not many. If the spacecraft is traveling at the speed of light and the distance is 4 light years, it would take 4 years to travel that distance. Even if the speed would be 90% of the speed of light (I think it is quite "close"), it would still take less than 4.5 years.
- "The rainbow is usually broken down into six colors most human eyes can detect: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet (some also include indigo between blue and violet, though that is less common)." [p. 20] I was taught in school in Lithuania that the rainbow is broken down into 7 colors: six already mentioned plus cyan between green and blue. Even to this day I remember the sentence that helped to know the order of the colors: raudonai, o gal žaliai, žydi marių vandenai. Does the American rainbow have only 6 colors? But this is not a thing of a language and naming stuff. It is a thing of physics. I wonder how this difference happened. But I was also taught that the rainbow has as many colors as you can see in it. I once saw a rainbow consisting only of color red.
- "This process happens for all the food at once, unlike in conventional ovens that need to have the heat move from the outside of the food to the center." [p. 52] So why sometimes my food in the microwave has a cold center, but the edges are fine already?
- "All light follows what is known as the law of reflection, which says that the angle of the incoming ray will be the same as the angle of the outgoing ray." [p. 78] If I read English correctly, this sentence implies that the incoming ray depends on the outgoing ray, which is not true. It is vice versa. First, you have an incoming ray at a certain angle. It reaches the surface and gets reflected: you have an outgoing ray at the same angle.
- "While Röntgen didn't get his name attached to the form of light he discovered, the "röntgen" is a unit scientists use to measure radiation." [p. 136] Fun fact, in Lithuanian, X-rays are called Rentgeno spinduliai (literally Röntgen's rays).
And now, the last, but far from the least (actually, the most substantial):
- "The electromagnetic spectrum is the range of all light that exists." [introduction] Oh boy, I had many thoughts on that throughout the book... When I (and probably many others) think about light, I think about visible light. As a physicist, I also consider ultraviolet and infrared to be light. But there are also gamma rays. I have never heard them being called light, but they are in the electromagnetic spectrum. Have you ever heard that a microwave oven heats food using light? Me neither, but microwaves are still the same electromagnetic waves, thus by this book's definition they are light. It seems that Kimberly K. Arcand and Megan Watzke decided to use a very loose definition of light and wrote about all electromagnetic spectrum.
- Generally, electromagnetic spectrum is divided into these parts: radio waves, microwaves, infrared light, visible light, ultraviolet light, X-rays, gamma rays. Notice that only part of it has the word "light" in the name? Others are just waves or rays. However, everything is a convention: if you agree to use the definitions in some way, that might be true until someone convinces you otherwise. Could light be defined as something we could use for imaging? Visible, infrared, X-rays fit this description. But so do electrons in scanning electron microscopy. Those definitely aren't light. However, we can use almost any physical quantity to make an image as long as we do enough measurements and set a certain color for a certain numerical value.
- Laser - light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation. Maser - microwave amplification by stimulated emission of radiation. If all electromagnetic radiation is light, then why do we need different terms? Instead of a maser, we could have a microwave laser (in comparison to a blue laser, a green laser, a UV laser, etc.). "It was later that more applications were found for visible light, which is why the "l" took over the "m" in the acronym that now serves as a common noun." [p. 53] Ok, so maybe there are microwave lasers, but I still think that they are more commonly called masers.
- At work, one of the techniques I use is spectroscopic ellipsometry. It is an optical method and the ellipsometer I use works with a light source (lamp) with spectrum from deep ultraviolet through visible to near-infrared. But there are also THz ellipsometers (terahertz corresponds to parts of microwaves and infrared). So, the technique, which I associate with light, uses part of the electromagnetic spectrum, which is not so widely considered as light.
- I guess now I consider all electromagnetic spectrum as light.
This book has a lot of beautiful images, but the text is a bit repetitive: one concept is written in the main text and when it is repeated (usually on the same page) in a figure caption. Also, I don't like the paper of this book. It is too shiny, all fingerprints are visible. The glue in the spine does not hold well, all the pages are not connected to it anymore. Luckily, some threads still hold everything together (until they decide to snap).
For the general reader, this book is quite good in showing the capabilities of light. For the researchers, not so much. They probably already know everything.
-----
2022-ųjų skaitymo iššūkis
Pagrindinis iššūkis
9. Knyga, kurios puslapių skaičius tarp 202-222 psl.
Knygoje yra 208 puslapiai.
19. Dviejų autorių knyga
Knygą prašė Kimberly K. Arcand ir Megan Watzke.
July 8, 2017
Beautiful book.
February 26, 2016
fantastic book with beautiful images. I may not be able to completely express here the pleasure of reading this book.
Awesome job Kim
Awesome job Kim
January 29, 2016
Picked this up after seeing a story in AMERICAN SCIENTIST for my daughter. Really beautiful and very interesting. Approachable and clearly laid out.
September 18, 2020
Purchase Light here for just $12!
What causes the aurora borealis? Why do scorpions glow in ultraviolet light? And how does the B-2 bomber avoid detection? Although light allows us to see everything around us, we can only see a small sliver of it. Describing the basic principles of how light works, NASA's Kim Arcand and Megan Watzke proceed along the electromagnetic spectrum, discussing such phenomena as radio waves, harnessed for telecommunications, and X-rays, which let us peer inside the human body and view areas around black holes in deep space. Sidebars contain additional info on the most significant scientists and discoveries, and the book includes hundreds of splendid full-colour photographs and illustrations, with revelatory views of the Milky Way, fireflies, bacteria, and a painting by Van Gogh.
Paul - The Book Grocer
What causes the aurora borealis? Why do scorpions glow in ultraviolet light? And how does the B-2 bomber avoid detection? Although light allows us to see everything around us, we can only see a small sliver of it. Describing the basic principles of how light works, NASA's Kim Arcand and Megan Watzke proceed along the electromagnetic spectrum, discussing such phenomena as radio waves, harnessed for telecommunications, and X-rays, which let us peer inside the human body and view areas around black holes in deep space. Sidebars contain additional info on the most significant scientists and discoveries, and the book includes hundreds of splendid full-colour photographs and illustrations, with revelatory views of the Milky Way, fireflies, bacteria, and a painting by Van Gogh.
Paul - The Book Grocer
June 3, 2021
Visually stunning overview of light and electromagnetic radiation, with equal space devoted to different wavelengths on the spectrum (radio, microwave, infrared, visible, UV, x-ray, and gamma ray). A bit too many pages devoted to pretty astronomical images in different wavelengths (not surprising, as the authors both work at NASA) at the expense of other aspects of light and radiation that could have been discussed, but still a good primer. It’s surprising there are so few books on this interesting and important topic - the only other one I’m aware of is Bob Berman’s “Zapped”, which is also good but has no pics.
October 29, 2024
The actual hardcover book is huge and weighs a few pounds. But that allows them to showcase their pictures throughout which are fantastic. Though as no surprise they highlight evolution throughout the book ("We have evolved as species to detect a certain range of light") along with the universe being millions and billions of years old, which may or may not be true, but they of course spout off those numbers as if they are provable scientific facts. But the way they introduce and explain the various forms of light throughout the book is done very well and is quite understandable which is remarkable in itself. Some of the pictures are more interesting than others, but that is the personal taste of the "eye" of the beholder. It really is unbelievable when you consider how this universe and our lives here on Earth with our own Star giving us almost exactly what we need and our atmosphere protecting us from the harmful stuff all comes together every sunrise and sunset. And how technology can take advantage of the various forms of light as well as study the universe for clues on how all this is put together. Truly amazing and in my mind begs to argue that there was intelligent design behind all this majesty.
August 28, 2017
First, the caveat. I received a copy of this book from Goodreads First Reads.
Wonderful images, really the standout feature of the book. This is a great coffee table book, for the ability to look at the pictures and read little bits. It also would work well in education about light, physics, and the world around us.
The layout helps readers see (pun intended) each sub-topic with a consistent set of themes. There's "A Day in the Light," "Scientist Spotlight," and other repeating sections for each chapter.
Good science, good artistry, and interesting writing.
Wonderful images, really the standout feature of the book. This is a great coffee table book, for the ability to look at the pictures and read little bits. It also would work well in education about light, physics, and the world around us.
The layout helps readers see (pun intended) each sub-topic with a consistent set of themes. There's "A Day in the Light," "Scientist Spotlight," and other repeating sections for each chapter.
Good science, good artistry, and interesting writing.
September 22, 2017
This was a pretty cool book, lots of high quality pictures of the universe and different views of planets, and the science was pretty easy to understand, the writing really helps you to grasp the different kinds of light and how they are emitted and used by us. I learned quite a bit, and it was entertaining too. A great coffee table book if you're interested in science.
I won this from a goodreads giveaway.
I won this from a goodreads giveaway.
September 6, 2018
Perfect choice for people who are curious about the electromagnetic spectrum. Nice imaginary pulls the reader in. Amazing pictures, and informative introductory overview about the whole spectrum in one place.
December 15, 2020
Great picture dense explanatory book on light. A subject like light takes days of thinking, may be a course work worth of deeper dive to really grasp its nature. However, for someone wanting a intuitive (if thats at all possible) hooks to some of the concepts , a book like this helps.
November 29, 2017
Giveaway win!!!
What a beautiful book. The pictures are amazing and the book is so interesting.
This is a new family favorite coffee table book.
What a beautiful book. The pictures are amazing and the book is so interesting.
This is a new family favorite coffee table book.
November 20, 2018
Great book
December 4, 2021
A good and informative introductory book on light. It is easy to understand for the layman and the images are beautiful.
December 20, 2021
Made me see light at a whole different level.
Really liked the pics too!
Really liked the pics too!
February 5, 2023
A wonderful introduction to all the forms of light and it’s interactions in the universe!
July 15, 2024
I was studying the electromagnetic spectrum and wanted to get more familiar, this was extremely helpful seeing what we use different frequencies for in everyday life
August 24, 2025
It reminds me of Elements a lot. A very nice introductory book on the different types of light.
October 4, 2016
I have a lot of catching up to do in terms of popular science books, so I’ve recently been doing an intense amount of reading. A lot of my focus has been on reading books by people I’m acquainted with through social media. A few weeks ago while at the bookstore, I happened across the beautiful book Light (2015), by Kimberly Arcand and Megan Watzke.
The cover, which is an image of the Sun pieced together from images over a range of wavelengths, is a perfect preview of what to expect from the book itself. Light is a full-color exploration of electromagnetic radiation in all of its forms, describing the science behind such radiation as well as its use in a variety of applications. The result is a beautiful and compelling book which can appeal to the public and scientists alike.
Read the whole review.
The cover, which is an image of the Sun pieced together from images over a range of wavelengths, is a perfect preview of what to expect from the book itself. Light is a full-color exploration of electromagnetic radiation in all of its forms, describing the science behind such radiation as well as its use in a variety of applications. The result is a beautiful and compelling book which can appeal to the public and scientists alike.
Read the whole review.
July 25, 2016
Light, is it a particle? Is it a wave? Is it particles riding a "wave like" path? WTF is it???? JK, light is one of the electromagnetic phenomena found in our Universe. Light is an oscillating electric and magnetic field, so it is electrical and magnetic. Also I finally learned the difference between a electromagnetic wave VS. a mechanical wave. Big day for me. I found the photos stunning and plan on reading more about light. It's just soooo groovy.
November 9, 2016
I am not really finished as I will continue to look it over and refer to it. I don't consider it a book that I will read cover to cover at one time. It is beautifully laid out easy for me to understand. I did receive this book as part of a giveaway. I really enjoy it and plan to share it many people. I think they will want to purchase this book for themselves.
April 13, 2016
I received this book in a Goodreads giveaway. It was beautiful and I took my time to really enjoy it. The photography was amazing, and the descriptions were informative and easy to understand. I shared it with my family and it provoked many varied discussions.
July 8, 2016
everything you want to know about light and it is beautifully designed.
April 7, 2016
Beautifully illustrated, concise, and informational. A wonderful book to have!
March 21, 2016
Wow! This book has answered so many questions I've had on space. Now I am better equipped to understand outer space pictures.
April 26, 2016
Beautiful book about light in space.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews