20 Nov
2002
20 Nov
'02
9:07 a.m.
At 08:16 AM 11/20/02 -0600, Mark Freeze wrote: <snipped>
...If color is not determined by wavelength, then how is it determined?...
It is largely determined by the wave length of the light striking the retina of the eye. But the situation is not so simple. The sensation of color can also be produced by a white light that flickers on and off at the proper rate. I have seen strong color by staring at a white sky through the blades of a rotating exhaust fan. And we have all seen those disks with black and white patterns on them that create the impression of color when spun at the proper rate. In these cases, the color most certainly exists only in the mind. Jim M.