Photoacoustic spectroscopy Photoacoustic spectroscopy Photoacoustic spectroscopy is the measurement of the effect of absorbed electromagnetic energy (particularly of light) on matter by means of acoustic detection. The discovery of the photoacoustic effect dates to 1880 when Alexander Graham Bell showed that thin discs emitted sound when exposed to a beam of sunlight that was rapidly interrupted with a rotating slotted disk. The absorbed energy from the light causes local heating, generating a thermal expansion which creates a pressure wave or sound. Later Bell showed that materials exposed to the non-visible portions of the solar spectrum (i.e., the infrared and the ultraviolet) can
Ultraviolet communication in butterflies communicate their receptivity to males using their ultraviolet communication system. The ultraviolet reflection is thought to be concentrated to the ventral side of a female’s hind wing. Yoshiaki Obara determined this experimentally by comparing the number of approaches to different parts of butterfly wings. The results showed that the female’s ventral hind wing was the greatest releaser of male sexual behavior. Although ultraviolet reflectance releases the sexual behavior, the strongest reflection of UV light is not the strongest releaser for the behavior. As a result, male white cabbage butterflies must have a preference for a certain level of UV reflectance