1. Electromagnetic Waves and Color
Physics Mr. Berman

2. Color Color is the perceptual quality of light.
The human eye can distinguish almost ten million colors.

3. Types of Materials
Translucent
Transparent

4. Color comes to our eyes from objects due to:
Emission
Reflection
Transmission
Interference
Dispersion
Scattering

5. Emission: the object itself is a source of light.

6. Reflection: certain frequencies are reflected from the object, others are absorbed.

7. A particular material absorbs the light frequency that matches the frequency at which electrons in the atoms of that material vibrate.

8. The energy of the frequency absorbed turns to heat.

9. Transmission: certain frequencies are transmitted through the object, others are absorbed.

10. Scattering: the reradiation of certain frequencies of light, striking small, suspended particles.

11. Interference: constructive and destructive interference.

12. Dispersion: the angular separation of a light wave during refraction.

13. Why do we see the colors of the rainbow?

14. Why is the sky blue?

15. Why is the ocean sometimes blue, gray or green?

16. Primary Colors of Light

17. Primary Colors of Light: Red, Green, Blue-combine to white

18. Secondary colors of Light: cyan, magenta, and yellow- also combine to white.

19. A complementary color is formed by subtracting a primary color from white light.
Every secondary color is the complement of a primary color.

20. If a blue and yellow flashlight strike a white object at the same time, what color will the object appear?

21. If red is subtracted from white, what color remains?

22. What color will a blue ball appear if a red light only strikes it and why?
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23. Color of light is an additive process with respect to frequency. Why?
The primary colors when added together give white light.

24. Additive Color of Light Mixing Applications
Movie film
Slide projector
Television and computer displays

25. Primary Colors of Pigment (Cyan, Yellow, Magenta combine to give Black color pigment)

26. Notes
The primary colors of pigment are the secondary colors of light and vice versa.

27. When magenta and cyan pigments are mixed what color results?

28. Pigment is a subtractive color process. Why?
Colors are formed by absorbing (taking away) certain frequencies from white light.
The absence of a reflected light wave appears as black color.

29. Applications: painting, printing, etc.