White Light The combination of all the colors. Sunlight is an example of white light. Newton showed that the colors in the spectrum were a property not of the prism, but of white light.

Newton was the first to show that sunlight is a mixture of all the colors by splitting the light into different colors through a spectrum. He also noted that they always formed the colors in a particular order. Red Yellow Orange Green Blue Indigo Violet ROY G BIV

Just as white light is a combination of all the colors, black is the absence of light. So, essentially it is not really a color at all. Objects appear black when they absorb all visible frequencies of light.

When we see colors, we are seeing the absorption and reflection of light. If we look at a flower, frequencies of light are absorbed and reflected. The leaves contain chlorophyll and absorb all the colors except green. Green light is reflected. A red rose reflects mostly red light. Not all objects reflect only one color. Daffodils, for example, reflect red, yellow, and green frequencies, but not blue.

The appearance of the color of objects depends on the kind of light reflection off them. Candle light is deficient in the blue frequency, so things appear more yellowish in candle light. Fluorescent light is rich in higher frequencies so things have a more bluish quality to them. If picking out fabric, the color will appear different in the store versus outside in the sunlight.

Q1 – When red light shines on a red rose, why do the leaves become warmer than the petals? Q2 – When green light shines on a red rose, why do the petals look black? Q3 – What color does a daffodil appear when illuminated with red light? With yellow light? With blue light?

In the visible light spectrum, the brightness of the light varies. The yellow to green section emits the brightest light. The blue to violet light emits the lowest brightness. Red to orange is in the middle of the brightness. See the graph on page 404 of the text.

Back to Kindergarten The primary colors are red, blue, yellow, right? And red and blue make purple. And red and Yellow make orange And blue and yellow make green Not so with light.

The primary colors seem to be red, green, and blue. The reason is because they are from the ends and middle of the visible light spectrum. So, Red and Green make Yellow, because the lower and middle frequencies combined make yellow. Green and Blue make Cyan, because the middle and higher frequencies combined. Red and Blue make Magenta

Red, Green, and Blue are primary light colors, Yellow, Cyan, and Magenta are secondary colors. Mixing red, green, and blue together makes white light. Complementary colors are when two colors combine to produce white light. Blue and yellow make white light. Green and magenta make white light. Red and cyan make white light.

Q1 – What are the complementary colors of a) magenta, b) blue, and c) cyan? Q2 - What color does red light pluse blue light appear? Q3 – What color does white light minus yellow light appear? Q4 – What color does white light minus green light appear?