Photon absorptions and the effect of wavelength

Most of the previous section concerned UV and visible light. In this section we will look in greater depth at the other common forms of light. From previous chapters, we are now familiar with the concept that different physical and chemical processes require differing amounts of energy. More specifically, it was shown in the previous section how the energies of photons can also vary. In this section, we see how the energies of different types of photon are manifested, and how their interactions may be followed. 

A bit of theory introduces this section. We then look first at infrared light and microwave light. We will also need to look a bit at the way bonds break following absorption of light, i.e. photolysis. These ideas are summarized as Table 9.4. 

We have seen already how photons of UV light from the sun can cause burning of the skin. UV photons often cause bonds to cleave, 

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