Chaper 4.10

Spectral Colours

Colors that are made up of a single wavelength of light (like a pure rainbow).

Nonspectral Colours

Colors that the brain creates by mixing wavelengths, or colors that don't exist on the rainbow (like purples or grays).

Colour Circle

A way of arranging colors in a circle to show how they relate, with opposite colors canceling each other out.

Opponent-Process Theory

The idea that our eyes process color in opposing pairs (red vs. green, blue vs. yellow, black vs. white); if one is active, the other is turned off.

Afterimages

The ghostly image you see after staring at a color and looking away; because of the opponent process, if you stare at green, you will see a red ghost when you look at a blank wall.