Light and Color

• Differences between light and paint…..

White: Absence of paint

Mixture of all colors

Black: Absence of light Mixture of all paint

Light and Color

• Things that happen to light…..

• Transmission

• Absorption

• Reflection

*Mixtures

Light and Color

• Transmission• Light passes straight through (no

change)• Examples

• Absorption

• Light absorbed (turn it into heat)

• Reflection• Light is bounced off an object.

• Examples

Light and Color

• Mixtures of Absorption and Reflection• When light hits an object, some light

is….

– Reflected or re-emitted light, this we do see

– Absorbed – never seen again

• Possibilities when light hits a surface:

• All colors of light have a frequency and λ

• Objects absorb light w/ the same resonant frequencies (turns light waves into heat) • Objects transmit any light that is not a resonant frequency, (gives the object its resulting color)

Light and Color

• Primary Colors of Light:

Light and Color

• Primary Colors of Paint:

Light and Color

• Mixtures of Absorption and Reflection

• Black – all colors absorbed, nothing reflected

• White – all colors reflected, nothing absorbed

Color Addition of Light

• Mixing Colored Lights ≠ Mixing Colored Paints

• Red/Green

Yellow

• Red/Blue

Magenta

• Blue/Green

Cyan/Teal

• Mixing Primary Light Colors