Ramesh V
Last Activity: 14 Years ago
The primary colors of light are red, green, and blue. These are the colors that can make all other colors, by adding them together. Red+green=yellow, red+blue=magenta, green+blue=cyan. If red, green, and blue light are all mixed, we get white light. If we take away all the light, we have black (dark).
The primary colors of pigments, on the other hand, are magenta, cyan, and yellow. (As children, most of us learned these as red, blue, and yellow, but this is not exactly right. However, red, blue, and yellow are close enough approximations when we mix poster paints.) The objects we see are all colored with pigments. The reason they appear a particular color is because that pigment is capable of absorbing some COLORS OF LIGHT and reflecting others. For example, a red shirt appears red because it absorbs all LIGHT COLORS except red. Red is reflected, so we see the shirt as red. So for OPAQUE objects, the color that is REFLECTED is the color that we see. The colors that are absorbed, we do not see. A white shirt, then, reflects all colors of light, while a black shirt absorbs all colors. (This is why we don't like to wear black on a hot summer day. Absorbed light is converted to heat.)
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regards
Ramesh