Light wave properties

Primary Colors

Red, blue, and green, which our eyes are sensitive to and are the basis for all the colors we see.

White

A color that is formed when all three primary colors are reflected off a surface.

Black

The absence of any color being reflected off a surface.

Anti Colors

Mixtures of two primary colors that are opposite to the third primary color.

Magenta

A color formed by mixing red and blue, which is the opposite of green.

Yellow

A color formed by mixing red and green, which is the opposite of blue.

Cyan

A color formed by mixing green and blue, which is the opposite of red.

Reflected Light

The colors of light that enter our eyes and form an image.

Absorbed Light

The colors of light that are not reflected and are turned into heat by a substance.

Wavelength

The distance between two corresponding points on a wave, with visible colors ranging from 400 to 700 nm.

Ultraviolet

Light of shorter wavelength than violet, which is not visible to the human eye.

Infrared

Light of longer wavelength than red, which is not visible to the human eye.

Concave Lenses

Lenses that bend light inward and spread it out.

Convex Lenses

Lenses that bend light outward and focus it at a point.

Transparent Objects

Objects that allow light to pass through them and can be distinguished by their different refraction.

Reflection

The bouncing back of light.

Refraction

The bending of light as it passes through a medium.

Transmission

The passing of light through a medium.

Absorption

The conversion of light into heat by a substance.

Rainbows

Optical phenomena created by light transmitting into water droplets, refracting into separate colors, and reflecting back to the viewer.

Scattering

The phenomenon where a gas appears as the colors of light it scatters rather than the ones it absorbs.