Panchromatic is a term describing a type of photographic film that is sensitive to all wavelengths of visible light. A panchromatic film therefore produces a realistic color image of a scene. Almost all modern photographic film is panchromatic, but some types are orthochromatic and are not sensitive to certain wavelengths of light. As naturally prepared, silver halide emulsions are very much more sensitive to blue and UV light than to green and red wavelengths. The German chemist Hermann W. Vogel found out to extend the sensitivity into the green, and later the orange, by adding sensitising dyes to the emulsion. However the development of his technique to achieve a fully panchromatic film was not achieved until the early 1900s, shortly after his death.. Undeveloped Arista black and white film, ISO 125. ... The wavelength is the distance between repeating units of a wave pattern. ... The optical spectrum (light or visible spectrum) is the portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that is visible to the human eye. ... A silver halide is one of the compounds formed between silver and one of the halogens, notably silver bromide (AgBr), silver chloride (AgCl) and silver iodide (AgI). ... Hermann Wilhelm Vogel (1834-1898) was a German photo-chemist who made a key contributions to practical color photography. ...

Panchromatic also refers to scientific or technical images which contain information from many discrete wavelength bands. It typically refers to an image which is either realistically colored, or which has been built up from several narrowband images taken in widely different wavelengths. In remote sensing applications, such an image is usually of a higher resolution than the images of individual wavelength bands, and the technique of combining these images is used in image composites to boost clarity or as a reference for further analysis. This is produced using dedicated equipment aboard earth observation satellites, such as France's SPOT or the commercial IKONOS. In the broadest sense, remote sensing is the measurement or acquisition of information of an object or phenomenon, by a recording device that is not in physical or intimate contact with the object. ... Earth observation satellites are satellites specifically designed to observe Earth from orbit, similar to reconnaissance satellites but intended for non-military uses such as environmental monitoring, meteorology, map making etc. ... SPOT (Satellite Pour lObservation de la Terre) is a commercial earth observation satellite. ... IKONOS 2 IKONOS is a commercial earth observation satellite that collects high-resolution imagery at 1- and 4-meter resolution. ...