Laser & Photo-Medicine Definitions

Monochromatic

Light of a single colour is said to be monochromatic.

The colour of light is determined by the energy value of the individual photons. Each photon oscillates at a certain frequency which, over time, determines its wavelength.

A beam of light containing only photons with the same frequency, or wavelength, will have only one (mono) colour (chroma), and is called monochromatic.

In practice, optical radiation is never truly monochromatic, but consists of a very narrow, finite bandwidth.

Light emitted by both lasers and LEDs is described as monochromatic but, in fact, laser light has a much narrower bandwidth than that emitted by LEDs.

White light, or what we perceive as white light, is actually a combination of many different wavelengths and, therefore, is defined as 'polychromatic'.

Contact Details

Australia/New Zealand

North America