In what processing stage that unexposed silver halides are dissolved and removed from the emulsion?

   Film is not equally sensitive to all wavelengths (colors) of light. The spectral sensitivity is a characteristic of film that must be taken into account in selecting film for use with specific intensifying screens and cameras. In general, the film should be most sensitive to the color of the light that is emitted by the intensifying screens, intensifier tubes, cathode ray tubes (CRTs), or lasers.

Blue Sensitivity

   A basic silver bromide emulsion has its maximum sensitivity in the ultraviolet and blue regions of the light spectrum. For many years most intensifying screens contained calcium tungstate, which emits a blue light and is a good match for blue sensitive film. Although calcium tungstate is no longer widely used as a screen material, several contemporary screen materials emit blue light.

Green Sensitivity

   Several image light sources, including image intensifier tubes, CRTs, and some intensifying screens, emit most of their light in the green portion of the spectrum. Film used with these devices must, therefore, be sensitive to green light.

   Silver bromide can be made sensitive to green light by adding sensitizing dyes to the emulsion. Users must be careful not to use the wrong type of film with intensifying screens. If a blue-sensitive film is used with a green-emitting intensifying screen, the combination will have a drastically reduced sensitivity.

Red Sensitivity

   Many lasers produce red light. Devices that transfer images to film by means of a laser beam must, therefore, be supplied with a film that is sensitive to red light. 

Safelighting

   Darkrooms in which film is loaded into cassettes and transferred to processors are usually illuminated with a safelight. A safelight emits a color of light the eye can see but that will not expose film. Although film has a relatively low sensitivity to the light emitted by safelights, film fog can be produced with safelight illumination under certain conditions. The safelight should provide sufficient illumination for darkroom operations but not produce significant exposure to the film being handled. This can usually be accomplished if certain factors are controlled. These include safelight color, brightness, location, and duration of film exposure.

   The color of the safelight is controlled by the filter. The filter must be selected in relationship to the spectral sensitivity of the film being used. An amber-brown safelight provides a relatively high level of working illumination and adequate protection for blue-sensitive film; type 6B filters are used for this application. However, this type of safelight produces some light that falls within the sensitive range of green-sensitive film.

   A red safelight is required when working with green-sensitive films. Type GBX filters are used for this purpose.

   Selecting the appropriate safelight filter does not absolutely protect film because film has some sensitivity to the light emitted by most safelights. Therefore, the brightness of the safelight (bulb size) and the distance between the light and film work surfaces must be selected so as to minimize film exposure.

   Since exposure is an accumulative effect, handling the film as short a time as possible minimizes exposure. The potential for safelight exposure can be evaluated in a darkroom by placing a piece of film on the work surface, covering most of its area with an opaque object, and then moving the object in successive steps to expose more of the film surface. The time intervals should be selected to produce exposures ranging from a few seconds to several minutes. After the film is processed, the effect of the safelight exposure can be observed. Film is most sensitive to safelight fogging after the latent image is produced but before it is processed.

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What stage of development process wherein remaining unexposed silver halide in the emulsion are removed?

What processing stage removes the unexposed and undeveloped silver halides from the analogue film emulsion?

What removes unexposed silver halide?

What is the chemical that removes the unexposed silver halide crystals on the film?