Difference Between Infrared and Ultraviolet

Radiation
The key difference between infrared and ultraviolet radiation is that the wavelength of infrared radiation
is longer than that of visible light, whereas the wavelength of ultraviolet radiation is shorter than the
wavelength of visible light.

Infrared and ultraviolet radiation are two types of electromagnetic radiation. This means these radiation waves
have an electric field and a magnetic field oscillating perpendicular to each other. There are different types of
electromagnetic radiation, depending on the wavelength of the radiation.

What is Infrared Radiation?

Infrared radiation is a type of electromagnetic radiation having a wavelength range of 700 nm – 1 nm.
Therefore, the wavelength range of this radiation is longer than that of visible light. This makes this radiation
invisible to the human eye. Infrared radiation can be abbreviated as IR radiation. It begins from the red edge
of the visible light. The thermal radiation emitted by an object such as the human body (near room
temperature) is emitted in the form of IR radiation. Moreover, similar to all types of electromagnetic radiation,
IR radiation carries a certain amount of energy, and this radiation can act as both wave and particle form. The
normal frequency range for this radiation is 430 THz to 300 GHz.

Generally, IR radiation contains a spectrum of wavelengths. Thermal IR radiation also has a maximum
wavelength that is proportional to the absolute temperature of the object from which the IR radiation is emitted.
Some of the smaller sections of the IR radiation band include near-infrared, short wavelength-infrared, mid-
wavelength-infrared, long wavelength-infrared, and far-infrared radiation. However, we can divide the band
of infrared radiation in the electromagnetic spectrum into three major parts as IR-A, IR-B, and IR-C. The
bands can also be named as near-IR, mid-IR and far-IR.

n general, IR radiation is used as thermal radiation or heat radiation. The radiation coming from the sun
accounts for 49% of IR wavelengths. This causes the heating of the Earth’s surface. Unlike the other methods
of heat transfer, e.g. conduction and convection, thermal radiation can transfer heat through a vacuum. IR
radiation that is emitted from human bodies is important in making the night vision equipment.

What is Ultraviolet Radiation?

Ultraviolet radiation is a type of electromagnetic radiation having a wavelength range of 10 nm – 400 nm.
Therefore, it has a shorter wavelength compared to that of the visible light. We can abbreviate it as UV
radiation. This wavelength range is shorter than visible range but longer than the X-ray range. The UV
radiation comes with the sunlight (about 10% of the sunlight).

UV radiation is not a type of ionizing radiation, but it can cause the progression of certain chemical reactions.
In addition to the sunlight, we can produce UV radiation from electric arcs or specialized lights such as
mercury lamp.

Summary – Infrared vs Ultraviolet Radiation

Infrared and ultraviolet radiation are two types of electromagnetic radiation. The key difference between
infrared and ultraviolet radiation is that the wavelength of infrared radiation is longer than that of visible light,
whereas the wavelength of ultraviolet radiation is shorter than the wavelength of visible light.