Which color of the visible spectrum of light has the highest energy of the answer choices? Possible Answers: Yellow Orange Red Blue Green
The Correct Answer and Explanation is:
The color of the visible spectrum with the highest energy among the given options is blue.
To understand why, we need to consider the relationship between the wavelength and energy of light. The visible spectrum of light includes colors ranging from red (with the longest wavelength) to violet (with the shortest wavelength). According to the wave-particle duality of light, energy and wavelength are inversely related—this means that as the wavelength of light decreases, its energy increases.
The formula that relates energy to wavelength is: E=hcλE = \frac{hc}{\lambda}E=λhc
Where:
- E is the energy of the photon,
- h is Planck’s constant (6.626 x 10^-34 J·s),
- c is the speed of light (3.00 x 10^8 m/s),
- λ (lambda) is the wavelength of light.
In this formula, we can see that the energy of light is inversely proportional to its wavelength: shorter wavelengths correspond to higher energy.
Among the visible spectrum colors, blue light has a shorter wavelength than green, yellow, orange, or red light. Specifically, blue light has wavelengths ranging from about 450 to 495 nm, while red light has wavelengths between 620 and 750 nm, which is the longest of the visible spectrum.
Because blue light has a shorter wavelength than yellow, orange, or red light, it carries more energy. In terms of color, violet has the shortest wavelength and the highest energy overall, but in the list provided, blue is the correct answer.
In summary, blue light has the highest energy because of its shorter wavelength compared to yellow, orange, and red light. The energy increases as the wavelength decreases across the visible spectrum.
