Definition
Color is a physiological experience depending on the frequency of light reaching the eye. Objects appear colored due to their selective reflection, transmission, or scattering of light.
Why It Matters
It serves as a fundamental example of how our ‘reality’ is a biological construction rather than a raw feed of the physical world.
Core Concepts
- Selective Reflection: Objects absorb some frequencies and reflect others. The reflected frequency is the color we see.
- Additive Primaries: Red, Green, and Blue light combine to produce White.
- Subtractive Primaries: Magenta, Yellow, and Cyan (used in pigments) absorb specific frequencies.
- Scattering:
- Blue Sky: Small molecules scatter high-frequency (blue) light more effectively.
- Red Sunset: Light passes through more atmosphere, scattering out the blue and leaving only low-frequency red.
- White Clouds: Different sized water droplets scatter all frequencies.