Frequency, wavelength, and Energy of light

[Banik_Housepian_2K]

Is the energy what determines whether or not a wave is harmful to humans? or does it have to do with the frequency or wavelength?

[Chem_Mod]

Since those quantities are actually related to each other, you could say that any of those qualities are the defining characteristics of what effects radiation has on the human body. I think I understand your question though. The reason that long term exposure to UV rays or blue light is potentially harmful to the human body is because their shorter wavelengths correspond to higher energy. This increased energy gives these photons the ability to ionize atoms and thus affect the base chemical structure of a molecule. This causes the increased likelihood of mutations to form since the energy from these UV photons can unintentionally break or reform chemical bonds.

[Edgar Khachatryan 3G]

What is the difference between the "energy" and "intensity" of a wave? Or are they referring to the same point in mind?

[Sedra_Tibi_1L]

Energy of a wave, measured in just Joules, is the energy of the whole wave, while intensity of a wave is measured in Joules per second per meter, so intensity measures the number of photons going through a single particle of the wave. Energy measures all the energy transmitted by the wave. Overall, energy is the power of the entire wave and intensity measures the power passing through a single particle of the wave. Hope this helps :)

[Eli Pazol 2F]

if you think of light as a particle(photon), then think of intensity as the number of photons, and frequency the determinant of the energy of each individual photon. So increasing the intensity means increasing the number of photons per second or however you want to define it. increasing the frequency means increasing the energy per photon

[michaeljwilson3]

In what situations does light act as a wave, and when does it act like a particle?