Light and Color Speed, Wavelength, Color And Human Perception

The Speed of Light Frequency and Wavelength In a vacuum electromagnetic waves move at C = 3 x 10 ⁸ m/s It moves slower in a medium The distance from one wave’s crest to the next is called its wavelength (λ). The number waves that go by in a second is its frequency (f, measured: crests/s or hertz ‘hz’)

The electro-magnetic waves that our eyes can detect have wavelengths between 400 to 700 nanometers We call it “Visible Light” Wavelength and Frequency are inversely related by: c = f λ Thus Visible Light is also between the frequencies of x 10¹ ⁶ Hz

A Color is the human perception of a specific frequency of light. Red is the lowest frequency color wavelength: 700 nm Violet is the highest frequency wavelength 400 nm The order from lowest to highest frequency is: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, and Violet or “ROY G. BIV”

White Light and the Spectrum White Light is the combination of all colors. Black is no colors White light can be split into all the colors…a Spectrum This can be done using a prism, ice crystal or a drop of water