Colour, Dispersion and the EMS
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What is the order of the electromagnetic spectrum from shortest wavelength to longest wavelength?
Gamma rays, X-rays, Ultraviolet (UV), Visible Light, Infrared, Microwaves, and Radio waves.
What is “dispersion” in relation to light?
The process where white light is split into a continuous spectrum of colours as it refracts.
How does a triangular glass prism disperse white light?
It refracts the different wavelengths of visible light by different amounts, spreading them out into a spectrum.
Which colour in the visible spectrum has the shortest wavelength and refracts the most?
Violet (approx. 400 nm).
Which colour in the visible spectrum has the longest wavelength and refracts the least?
Red (approx. 700 nm).
What is the order of colours in the visible spectrum?
ROYGBV (Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Violet).
Are all colours found on the electromagnetic (EM) spectrum?
No, some colours we perceive are a mixture of different wavelengths and don’t correspond to a single wavelength on the spectrum.
How does the human eye interpret colour?
Using specialized photoreceptor cells on the retina called “cones”.
What three specific colours of light are the cone cells in our eyes responsible for detecting?
Red, Green, and Blue light.
Why does a red object appear red to us?
It absorbs all other colours (wavelengths) and only reflects red light back to our eyes.
Why does a blue object appear blue?
It absorbs the middle and long wavelengths (like green and red) and reflects the blue wavelengths, which our cones detect.