Glossary

Solar spectrum:  The total distribution of electromagnetic radiation emanating from the sun. The different regions of the solar spectrum are described by their wavelength range. The visible region extends from about 390 to 780 nanometers (a nanometer is one billionth of one meter). About 99 percent of solar radiation is contained in a wavelength region from 300 nm (ultraviolet) to 3,000 nm(near-infrared). The combined radiation in the wavelength region from280 nm to 4,000 nm is called the broadband, or total, solar radiation.