Relative Visibility of Light at Various Wavelengths The following table lists the relative sensitivity of the Mark-I eyeball to wavelengths (including common laser sources) of light throughout the visible spectrum and somewhat beyond. Of course, not everyone comes equally equipped. Your mileage may vary (and the number of significant figures in some of these entries should not be taken too seriously)! (Much of the following is from: Don Klipstein (don@misty.com).) Note: In the table below, the entry under 'Color' attempts to describe the actual appearance while the color listed under 'Typical Source/Application' is what you are likely to see in a laser catalog. (Portions of the following from: Don Klipstein (don@Misty.com).) Wavelength Response Color Typical Source/Application ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 350 nm .00001? UV 380 nm .0002 Near UV 400 nm .0028 Border UV Nichia violet GaN laser diode 410 nm .0074 " " 420 nm .0175 Violet 442 nm .0398 Violet-blue Violet-blue line of HeCd laser 450 nm .0468 Blue 457.5 nm .0556 " Blue frequency doubled Nd:YVO4 457.9 nm .0562 " Blue line of argon ion laser 473 nm .104 " Blue frequency doubled Nd:YAG 488 nm .191 Green-blue Green-blue line of argon ion laser 500 nm .323 Blue-green 510 nm .503 Green Emerald green line of copper vapor laser 514.5 nm .588 " Green line of argon ion laser 532 nm .885 " Green frequency doubled Nd:YAG or Nd:YVO4 543.5 nm .974 " Green HeNe laser 550 nm .995 Yellow-green 555 nm 1.000 " Reference (peak) wavelength 567 nm .969 " Green line of Helium-Mercury laser 568 nm .964 " Y-G line of some krypton ion lasers 578 nm .889 Yellow Gold line of copper vapor laser 580 nm .870 " 594.1 nm .706 Orange-yellow Yellow HeNe laser 600 nm .631 Orange 611.9 nm .479 Red-orange Orange HeNe laser 615 nm .441 " Orange line of Helium-Mercury laser 627 nm .298 " Orange line of Gold Vapor Laser 632.8 nm .237 Orange-red Red HeNe laser 635 nm .217 " Laser diode (DVD, newer laser pointers) 640 nm .175 " " 645 nm .138 " " 647.1 nm .125 Red Red line of krypton or Ar/Kr ion laser 650 nm .107 " Laser diode (DVD, newer laser pointers) 655 nm .082 " Laser diode 660 nm .061 " " 670 nm .032 " Laser diode (UPC scanners, old pointers) 680 nm .017 " 685 nm .0119 Deep red 690 nm .0082 " 694.3 nm .006 " Ruby laser 700 nm .0041 Border IR 750 nm .00012 Near IR 780 nm .000015 " CD player/CDROM/LaserDisc laser diode 800 nm 3.7*10-6 " Laser diodes for pumping Nd:YAG, Nd:YVO4 850 nm 1.1*10-7 " 900 nm 3.2*10-9 " 1,047 nm ? " Nd:YLF laser (for reference only - ed.) 1,064 nm 3*10-14 " Nd lasers (including YAG) 1,523.1 nm 0.0000 " IR HeNe laser 3,390 nm 0.0000 Mid-IR IR HeNe laser 10,600 nm 0.0000 Far-IR CO2 laser