Action spectrum
McGraw-Hill Science & Technology Dictionary:
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action spectrum
(′ak·shən ′spek·trəm)
(physiology) Graphic representation of the comparative effects of different wavelengths of light on living systems or their components.
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Action spectrum
Oxford Dictionary of Biochemistry:
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action spectrum
a graph or table showing the relative efficiencies of different frequencies of radiation in causing a chemical or biochemical reaction, e.g. in photosynthesis or gas exchange. Efficiency, or quantum yield, is given by the measurable effect divided by the intensity of the (monochromatic) incident radiation.
| action potential, actinomyosin, actinomycin | |
| activate, activated alumina, activated amino acid |
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Action spectrum
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An action spectrum is the rate of a physiological activity plotted against wavelength of light. It shows which wavelength of light is most effectively used in a specific chemical reaction. Some reactants are able to use specific wavelengths of light more effectively to complete their reactions. For example, chlorophyll is much more efficient at using the red and blue spectrums of light to carry out photosynthesis. Therefore, the action spectrum graph would show spikes above the wavelengths representing the colors red and blue.
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McGraw-Hill Science & Technology Dictionary
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms. Copyright © 2003, 1994, 1989, 1984, 1978, 1976, 1974 by McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Oxford Dictionary of Biochemistry
Oxford University Press. Oxford Dictionary of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology © 1997, 2000, 2006 All rights reserved.
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