Color, Light, and Sight

Based on the Biology of Sight, Color Theory, and Light and Color pages.

The Biology of Sight

White light being split into colors by a prism. The white light shines on the prism from the bottom left, and a big part of it is refracted and split as it passes through the prism. image credit Pexels
An artistic rendering of a close-up of the back of the eye illustrating the rods (black) and cones (triangles colored by type). image credit Jack Hegarty

The Oatmeal has a great educational comics on an animal with even more color sensitivity.

An up-close picture of some of the SpinWheel’s LEDs, showing the red, green, and blue subpixels.

An example of Red, Green, Blue mixing

255+255+255=  
void setup() {
  SpinWheel.begin();
}
void loop() {

  SpinWheel.drawFrame();
}

Color Theory

The science of mixing paints and lights

Many bright minds of our civilization have studied the science behind colors in the pursuit of art.image credit Pikrepo

Perceiving Color

An artistic rendering of a close-up of the back of the eye illustrating the rods (black) and cones (triangles colored by type). image credit Jack Hegarty

Mixing Colors With Light Sources

An up-close picture of a computer screen, showing the red, green, and blue light sources, making up the white background. These sources, or subpixels, are so close together that from a distance we see them as overlapping and observe only their mixture.image credit Wikimedia

A white ball illuminated by three colored lights

255+255+255= 

Mixing Colors with Pigments

Primary Pigment Color
(a.k.a. subtractive)		 Complemented by Primary Light Color
(a.k.a. additive)
Cyan
(absorbs red and reflects green and blue)		 Red
Magenta
(absorbs green and reflects red and blue)		 Green
Yellow
(absorbs blue and reflects red and green)		 Blue

Three overlapping colored stains on white paper

255+255+255= 
The halftone technique is a good example of this, where microscopic dots of different sizes and colors are used to make the illusion of a smooth color at a distance. image credit Wikimedia

Light and Color

The physics of colored light

Understanding the interplay between color and light enables the creation of wondrous technology and art. image credit Pikrepo

White Light is a Mixture of Colors

White light being split into colors by a prism. The white light shines on the prism from the bottom left, and most of it is refracted and split as it passes through the prism. image credit Pexels

Light is an Electromagnetic Wave

Waves are traveling motion

A wave is a repetitive motion traveling through a medium. Some examples are shown in the table below.

Type of Wave Medium
Ocean wave Water
Sound wave Air
Light ?

Properties of Waves

Pick a wavelength :
300nm 800nm
nm
The Electromagnetic Spectrum, only a small portion of which is visible to our eyes. image credit Wikimedia
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