What is colour?

What is colour?

What do your eyes sense when you see colour?

When our eyes see something, the sensors that are in our eyes sense light and because of the light that our eyes sense, we are able to know and see what colour the object is.

Why can’t we see colours in the dark?

In the dark, we can’t see colours because the darkness around us absorbs all the colours. The darkness also doesn’t reflect any light.

How are black and white surfaces different in the way they reflect and absorb light?

Black and white surfaces are different because white surfaces reflect all the colours that are in the white light that surrounds the white surfaces but the white surfaces don’t absorb any light, it just reflects the light surrounding it. Black surfaces don’t reflect any light but it absorbs all the colours that are around it.

What determines whether an object is opaque, transparent or translucent?

Objects are either opaque, transparent or translucent. Opaque objects are the ones that absorb and reflect light. This doesn’t happen all the time. Sometimes when light hits something, not all the light is reflected and absorbed. Transparent objects are the ones that you can see through. Just like a ghost! This is because the light that is reflected off a transparent object, it passes through very smoothly. Sometimes objects are translucent. Translucent objects let light pass through but it scatters. Unlike, transparent objects, translucent objects don’t pass through smoothly. So when you look through a translucent object, it is blurred.

By:
Liezl