Have you have ever looked at the various colors of light that come out of a prism or even through a thick piece of glass? Most of us have seen the rainbow pattern that corresponds to the area in the spectrum where visible light occurs. In everyday terms we call this area color, but it actually delineates the area of the spectrum that is associated with a certain size wavelength of light, or more technically, Electromagnetic Radiation

Electromagnetic radiation is the blanket term that covers all light energy and its effects/uses. The radio waves that carry the ball game to your ears and the X-rays that took a picture of your broken arm are the same radiation.  The only difference is the size and distance between these waves of energy.

The unit of measure for this distance between waves is the nanometer. The nanometer is a unit of length in the metric system, equal to one billionth of a meter.

While visible light is important to us, there are two other wavelengths that we need to discuss, IR and UV. Ultraviolet rays are comprised of UVA, B and C. Only UVA and a portion of UVB make it to us on the ground. UVC and other higher energy wavelengths (e.g. X-Rays, Gamma etc.) are thankfully blocked out by the protective layers of the earth’s atmosphere. IR or infrared is the energy we feel directly as heat.

All together, the UV, Visible and IR portions of the spectrum are the energy that we feel, see and deal with in everyday life. This is where window film comes into the picture as a barrier to this energy.  Window films absorb, reflect and reject various amounts of these energies, to the benefit of those who use them.