When asked, most children would respond that light is colorless. But, in reality, the air around us contains every single color of the visible light portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. “Electromagnetic waves are waves produced by a vibrating electrical charge that can travel through a vacuum, such as outer space, or through air on Earth. These waves come in different speeds, or frequencies. The faster a wave vibrates, the shorter its wavelength, which is the distance between two waves at the same point in their cycles” (Blackwell & Manar, 2015). The electromagnetic spectrum is a spectrum of all light, all the way from gamma rays to radio waves. Humans can only recognize visible light, which is a small portion of the spectrum. The visible light spectrum ranges from violet to red light. …show more content…
Phaseolus lunatus is the scientific name for a lima bean plant. The rate of growth of this plant, beginning with germination, will depend on the color spectrum of light to which the plant will be exposed. To generate colored light, this experiment will place a 7.5 watt fluorescent lamp over different-colored cellophane sheets and have the colored light radiate the seeds. Cellophane is a thin sheetlike material made of regenerated cellulose. Cellophane has the property of birefringence, meaning that it has a refractive index that depends on the polarization and the propagation direction of light. Therefore, it is a fitting material for this experiment. In addition, the lima bean plant is a simple plant to work with, since it can grow indoors and in evenly moist and drained soil, which is easy to set up at