Why can humans see colors that fall in the UV or IR part of the electromagnetic spectrum?
It is difficult to answer briefly, but it has to do with the visible range of wavelengths being were a lot of the important information about our world is and with the reactions of biological tissue to electromagnetic energy. UV is damaging to tissue and is best absorbed to protect us rather than being used in our visual system. IR is also produced emitted by warm objects, like our bodies, and it is difficult to overcome this background emission (noise) to detect IR signals in the world.
Related Questions
- I see gate handles are usually in bright colors – is that to make it easier for humans to see or does that have to do with UV protection?
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