Full-spectrum

Encyclopedia : F : FU : FUL : Full-spectrum

Full-spectrum light is light that covers the entire spectrum from low ultraviolet to infrared and above; in particular, sunlight is full spectrum.

An electrical light bulb is said to be full-spectrum if it supplies sufficient ultraviolet light. A plant growth bulb will generate UVA radiation, which helps keep plants healthy. Reptiles and amphibians require a bulb that generates not only UVA, but UVB radiation (the type that can cause sunburns) as well. This is generally considered to be a full-spectrum light, and can be generated by a fluorescent tube light. Mercury-vapor lamps and halogen lamps can also generate full-spectrum light. Halogens may even generate some UVC radiation which can cause skin cancer, so they should be placed a couple of feet above the area they are being used on if living animals are present.

From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.