Hi Riki- What you told her is essentially correct. However it is very rare for "pure" colours to exist in a natural setting. Reds, for example, are usually a combination of red and smaller ammounts of green and blue. The different shades of black contain varying traces of red, green and blue. Theoretically it is possible to have a "black body", that is an object that absorbs ALL light and reflects nothing. In practice nothing is that perfect (although we can come close). Usually the pupil looks black because little light is reflected back out of the eye (in humans). However, if the light going in is strong and the angle right you will see light reflected back out. This is the phenomenon of "red eye" that we see in some photgraphs.
Hope that helps, -Don. Don Allen Dept. of Psychology Langara College 100 W. 49th Ave. Vancouver, B.C. Canada V5Y 2Z6 Phone: 604-323-5871 ----- Original Message ----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Tuesday, February 6, 2007 5:12 pm Subject: [tips] question about color perception To: "Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS)" <[email protected]> > > > Sorry for the cross-posting. > > After I explained that when we see a color, that color is what is > reflected > after the other wavelengths are absorbed by the material, one of > my students > asked about the perception of black. She wanted to know if it is > similar to > the black pupil in the eye, which is actually a hole. If it is the > absorption > of all wavelengths, how is it possible to have many shades of > black? I told > her I would seek the expertise of my colleagues. > > Riki Koenigsberg > [EMAIL PROTECTED] (mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]) > > > > > --- > To make changes to your subscription go to: > http://acsun.frostburg.edu/cgi- > bin/lyris.pl?enter=tips&text_mode=0&lang=english > --- To make changes to your subscription go to: http://acsun.frostburg.edu/cgi-bin/lyris.pl?enter=tips&text_mode=0&lang=english
