Spectrum

Origin

New Latin, from Latin, appearance — more at specter In Latin spectrum means "image" or "apparition", including the meaning "spectre". Spectral evidence is testimony about what was done by spectres of persons not present physically, or hearsay evidence about what ghosts or apparitions of Satan said. It was used to convict a number of persons of witchcraft at Salem, Massachusetts in the late 17th century. The word "spectrum" [Spektrum] was strictly used to designate a ghostly optical afterimage by Goethe in his Theory of Colors and Schopenhauer in On Vision and Colors.

• 1671

Definitions

• 1a : a continuum of color formed when a beam of white light is dispersed (as by passage through a prism) so that its component wavelengths are arranged in order

b : any of various continua that resemble a color spectrum in consisting of an ordered arrangement by a particular characteristic (as frequency or energy): as (1) : electromagnetic spectrum (2) : radio spectrum (3) : the range of frequencies of sound waves (4) : mass spectrum

c : the representation (as a plot) of a spectrum

• 2a : a continuous sequence or range <a wide spectrum of interests> <opposite ends of the political spectrum>

b : kinds of organisms associated with a particular situation (as an environment)

c : a range of effectiveness against pathogenic organisms <an antibiotic with a broad spectrum>

Description

A spectrum (plural spectra or spectrums) is a condition that is not limited to a specific set of values but can vary infinitely within a continuum. The word was first used scientifically within the field of optics to describe the rainbow of colors in visible light when separated using a prism. As scientific understanding of light advanced, it came to apply to the entire electromagnetic spectrum.

Spectrum has since been applied by analogy to topics outside of optics. Thus, one might talk about the spectrum of political opinion, or the spectrum of activity of a drug, or the autism spectrum. In these uses, values within a spectrum may not be associated with precisely quantifiable numbers or definitions. Such uses imply a broad range of conditions or behaviors grouped together and studied under a single title for ease of discussion.

In most modern usages of spectrum there is a unifying theme between extremes at either end. Some older usages of the word did not have a unifying theme, but they led to modern ones. Modern usages in mathematics did evolve from a unifying theme, but this may be difficult to recognize.