Color and the Spectrum

Color and the Spectrum
Steve Beeson, Arizona State University

What would our world be like if we could not see color? Would it be like our mental image of an old black and white film? Would we even strive to create paintings or fashion? Would we know anything about the structure of the atom? Would we have even evolved into hominids? Doubtless our world and society would be very different from the way we currently perceive them. But what is color and why do things "have" a certain color? Furthermore, are there other manifestations of "light" that we can't see with our eyes? Let's explore the world of light, color, and the electromagnetic spectrum to answer some of our questions.

Objectives

To explore how objects have a color assosciated with them

To explore the ways in which we can mix colors to make other colors

To see that "light" is not just the visible light that humans perceive

Diffraction grating in Optics Discovery Kit

Prism

Color filters

Flashlight

Top of the Page Light & Optics Page

Light/Reflect./Refract.

Lenses/Mirrors/Prisms

Color & Spectrum

Optics in Nature

Copyright &copy1995 Steve Beeson, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287