action spectrum

https://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.A00088
A plot of a relative biological or chemical photoresponse (= Δy) per number of incident photons against
wavelength
or energy of radiation under the same
radiant power
of light. This form of presentation is frequently used in the studies of biological or solid state systems, where the nature of the absorbing species is unknown. This type of action spectrum is sometimes called
spectral responsivity
or sensitivity spectrum. The precise action spectrum is a plot of the
spectral or quantum effectiveness
. By contrast, a plot of the biological or chemical change or response per absorbed photon (
quantum efficiency
) versus
wavelength
is the
efficiency spectrum
.
See also:
excitation spectrum
,
efficiency spectrum
Source:
PAC, 1996, 68, 2223. (Glossary of terms used in photochemistry (IUPAC Recommendations 1996)) on page 2227 [Terms] [Paper]