Wavelength and frequency

Light is measured by its wavelength (in nanometers) or frequency (in Hertz).

One wavelength
equals the distance between two successive wave crests or troughs.

Frequency (Hertz)
equals the number of waves that passes a given point per second.

you only see the light that gets to your eyes.

Light Absorption, Reflection, and Transmission

Visible Light Absorption
Visible Light Reflection and Transmission
Reflection and transmission of light waves occur because the frequencies of the
light waves do not match the natural frequencies of vibration of the objects.
If the object is transparent, then the vibrations of the electrons are passed on to
neighboring atoms through the bulk of the material and reemitted on the opposite
side of the object. Such frequencies of light waves are said to be transmitted. If
the object is opaque, then the vibrations of the electrons are not passed from atom
to atom through the bulk of the material. Rather the electrons of atoms on the
material's surf
ace vibrate for short periods of time and then reemit the energy as a reflected light
wave. Such frequencies of light are said to bereflected.

Where Does Color Come From?

The color of an object is not actually within the object itself. Rather, the color is in
the light that shines upon it and is ultimately reflected or transmitted to our
eyes. The only role that the object plays is that it might contain atoms capable of
selectively absorbing one or more frequencies of the visible light that shine upon

it. The papers are impregnated with a chemical capable of absorbing one or more of
the colors of white light. Such chemicals that are capable of selectively absorbing
one or more frequency of white light are known as pigments.
Transparent materials are materials that allow one or more of the frequencies of
visible light to be transmitted through them; whatever color(s) is/are not
transmitted by such objects, are typically absorbed by them. The appearance of a
transparent object is dependent upon what color(s) of light is/are incident upon the
object and what color(s) of light is/are transmitted through the object.
The colors perceived of objects are the results of interactions between the various
frequencies of visible light waves and the atoms of the materials that objects are
made of. Many objects contain atoms capable of either selectively absorbing,
reflecting or transmitting one or more frequencies of light. The frequencies of light
that become transmitted or reflected to our eyes will contribute to the color that we
perceive.
We observe that the same object appears different colors when viewed under
different light. So the secret to an object's appearance is not strictly due to its
ability to produce a color. In fact the object's only role in determining its appearance
is in its ability to absorb certain wavelengths of light which shine upon it.
Without any incident light, there can be no reflected light. Such an object appears
black - the absence of light.

Practice A: Green and blue light will be transmitted and so the object would
appear greenish-blue to an observer.
Practice B: Red and orange light will be transmitted and so the object would
appear reddish-orange to an observer.

Practice A: No light will be reflected; it is all absorbed. Thus, the paper would
appear black to an observer.
Practice B: Red and orange will be reflected and so the paper appears
reddish-orange to an observer.

Practice C: Red and blue light will be transmitted and so the object would
appear reddish-blue to an observer.
Practice D: Only red light will be transmitted and so the object would
appear red to an observer.

Primary Colors of Light

Any three colors (or frequencies) of light that produce white light when combined
with the correct intensity are called primary colors of light. There are a variety of
sets of primary colors. The most common set of primary colors is red (R), green (G)
and blue (B). When red, green and blue light are mixed or added together with the
proper intensity, white (W) light is obtained

In fact, the mixing together (or addition) of two or three of these three
primary colors of light with varying degrees of intensity can produce a
wide range of other colors. For this reason, many television sets and
computer monitors produce the range of colors on the monitor by the use
of red, green and blue light-emitting phosphors.

olor Addition Rules

These demonstrations with the color box illustrate that red light and green
light add together to produce yellow (Y) light. Red light and blue light add
together to produce magenta (M) light. Green light and blue light add
together to produce cyan (C) light. And finally, red light and green light and
blue light add together to produce white light. This is sometimes
demonstrated by the following color equations and graphic:

R+G=Y

R+B=M

G+B=C

Yellow (Y), magenta (M) and cyan (C) are sometimes referred to as secondary
colors of lightsince they can be produced by the addition of equal intensities of
two primary colors of light. The addition of these three primary colors of light
with varying degrees of intensity will result in the countless other colors that
we are familiar (or unfamiliar) with.

Complementary Colors of Light

Any two colors of light that when mixed together in equal intensities produce
white are said to be complementary colors of each other. The complementary
color of red light is cyan light. This is reasonable since cyan light is
equivalent to a combination of blue and green light; and blue and green light
when added to red light will produce white light. Thus, red light and cyan
light (which is equivalent to blue + green light) represent a pair of
complementary colors of light; they add together to produce white light. This
is illustrated in the equation below:

R + C = R + (B + G) = White

Each primary color of light has a secondary color of light as its complement.
The three pairs of complementary colors are listed below. The graphic at the
right is extremely helpful in identifying complementary colors.
Complementary colors are always located directly across from each other on
the graphic. Note that cyan is located across from red, magenta across from
green, and yellow across from blue.

Complementary Colors of Light

Red and Cyan

Green and Magenta

Blue and Yellow

The production of various colors of light by the mixing of the three primary
colors of light is known as color addition. The color addition principles
discussed on this page can be used to make predictions of the colors that
would result when different colored lights are mixed. In thenext part of
Lesson 2, we will learn how to use the principles of color addition to
determine why different objects look specific colors when illuminated with
various colors of light.

Materials: Look around for items that can act as transparent colored filters.
filter is a transparent material that absorbs some colors and allows others to pass
through.

Explanation: To help you understand what is happening, remember that you only see
the light that gets to your eyes. When the colored light from the computer screen
passes through the colored filter, some of the light is absorbed and some is allowed to
pass through the filter and continue to your eyes. The filter is named for the color of
light that it allows to pass through. For example, red cellophane would be called a red
filter. The cellophane would allow primarily the red tones of light to pass through and
reach your eyes.

To take an extreme example, an apple that appears red in sunlight will look black under green lightlight that
contains no color but green. This is because the apple can reflect only red light; since none is present, the apple
absorbs all the light it receives and appears black.

A red rose appears red in white light because it absorbs all colors except red. But when the same rose is
seen through a green filter it appears black because the red color of the rose is absorbed by the green
filter. (the rose reflects red but there is no red so it absorbs the color appearing black.)

Materials

Flashlight
Red, blue, and green construction paper
See-through colored cellophane paper
Camera filters in red, blue and green
Masking tape or a rubber band

Research Questions

Why did the papers look white, red, blue, and green (respectively) in white light?
How did the filters affect the white flashlight beam?
Why did the yellow and green papers seem to lose their color when red light was
shined on them?

Procedure
1.
2.

Darken the room as much as possible.

Turn on the flashlight and aim it at the white paper. Observe and record the color
of the paper in the data table.
3. Repeat step 2 with the red, blue, and green pieces of paper.

4.

Place the red filter in front of the beam of the flash light as shown using tape or a
rubber band to secure the cellophane paper filter. Shine the filtered beam on the
white, red, blue, and green papers and record the colors seen.
5. Repeat using the blue filter and then the green filter. After each test, record the
results.

Results
Filter
Paper

None

Red

Green

Blue

White
Red
Blue
Green

Digging Deeper
Place a filter in front of the light source. Combine two colored filters. Now combine three
colors. Experiment with many different combinations.