3.3.22

Seeing Colour

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Seeing Colour

When we see different colours, we are just looking at different frequencies of light that reflect into our eyes.

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Primary and secondary colours

  • The three primary colours of light are: green, red and blue.
  • If we mix these colours, we get our secondary colours:
    • Red + green → yellow.
    • Green + blue → cyan.
    • Blue + red → magenta.
    • Red + green + blue → white.
  • White light contains all the colours.
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Seeing colours

  • We see objects as having a colour because that colour reflects off the object and the other colours are absorbed.
  • So a red apple is red because the apple reflects red light and absorbs all other colours.
  • White paper reflects all the colours and black paper absorbs all the colours.
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Colour filters

  • A coloured filter will only transmit that colour of light.
  • So a blue filter will only transmit blue light and absorb all other colours.
  • If you hold a blue filter and a red filter up, the blue light that is transmitted will be absorbed by the red filter.

Jump to other topics

1Biology

1.1Cells, Tissues & Organs

1.2Reproduction & Variation

1.3Ecological Relationships & Classification

1.4Digestion & Nutrition

1.5Plants & Photosynthesis

1.6Biological Systems & Processes

2Chemistry

2.1Particles

2.2Chemical Reactions

2.3Atoms, Elements, Compounds

2.4The Periodic Table

2.5Materials & the Earth

2.6Reactivity

2.7Energetics

2.8Properties of Materials

3Physics

3.1Energy

3.2Forces & Motion

3.3Waves

3.4Electricity & Magnetism

3.5Matter

3.6Space Physics

4Thinking Scientifically

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