Title: visible
Long Title: IUPAC Gold Book - visible
DOI: 10.1351/goldbook.VT07496
Status: current

Definition
Region of the electromagnetic spectrum extending from about \(400\ \rm{nm}\) to \(760\ \rm{nm}\). This is the wavelength region to which the human eye is sensitive. There are no precise limits for the spectral range of visible radiation since they depend upon the amount of radiant power reaching the retina and on the responsivity of the observer.

Related Terms
- radiant power: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/R05046
- wavelength: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/W06659

Source
- PAC, 2007, 79, 293. 'Glossary of terms used in photochemistry, 3rd edition (IUPAC Recommendations 2006)' on page 439 (https://doi.org/10.1351/pac200779030293)

Other Outputs
- html: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/VT07496/html
- json: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/VT07496/json
- xml: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/VT07496/xml

Citation: Citation: 'visible' in IUPAC Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 5th ed. International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry; 2025. Online version 5.0.0, 2025. 10.1351/goldbook.VT07496
License: The IUPAC Gold Book is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike CC BY-SA 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) for individual terms.
Collection: If you are interested in licensing the Gold Book for commercial use, please contact the IUPAC Executive Director at executivedirector@iupac.org .
Disclaimer: The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) is continuously reviewing and, where needed, updating terms in the Compendium of Chemical Terminology (the IUPAC Gold Book). Users of these terms are encouraged to include the version of a term with its use and to check regularly for updates to term definitions that you are using.
Accessed: 2026-04-27T16:09:16+00:00