Color
Claimed by Jeremy Gura
Color is an intensive physical property of matter, meaning that it is only dependant on the type of matter present.
The Main Idea
Color is an intensive physical property of matter, in that it cannot be measured differently by two viewers of the same object. This can also be seen in if a large amount of matter is present as opposed to a small amount of the same matter, the color viewed by the same viewer is the same. The physical color seen and interpreted by a viewer is subject to the brain and the eyes of the individual. The object itself absorbs a certain amount of light and reflects the rest. The wavelength of light that is reflected off the surface of the object is interpreted in the eye as a specific color.
A Mathematical Model
Each color has a spectrum of wavelengths of light associated with it. The range of colors we are conditioned to seeing regularly are in the wavelength range of 400-650nm. Matter can technically reflect wavelengths above and below this, they can just not be seen with the naked eye. These wavelenghts for colors are listed below:
| Color | Wavelength (nm) |
|---|---|
| Violet | 400 |
| Indigo | 445 |
| Blue | 475 |
| Green | 510 |
| Yellow | 570 |
| Orange | 590 |
| Red | 650 |
History
The tri-color hypothesis was first developed in 1801 by Thomas Young, as any color could be created with three different colored lights, which was confirmed by James Clerk Maxwell in 1865. In 1931, an worldwide organization of scientists known as the Commission Internationale de L'éclairage (CIE) mapped out the space of observable colors as wavelengths and assigned a set of numbers to each color, usually in sets of three, which is still in use today for use in coding.
References
1. Wavelength_Figure. Digital image. Larc.NASA.gov. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Nov. 2015. 2. "Color." Wikipedia.com N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Dec. 2015.