Introduction to Light, Color and Color Space——Introduction

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introduction
however simple in appearance and quite common, the notion of color is in reality a complex issue. it is not only something that can be described scientifically in which case we could only have an objective and rational view on the matter. Colors is also the result of a process that involves vision, one of sensory systems through which we perceive and interact with the world around us. As such, it is also a very subjective matter with a psychological (the meaning of colors) and physiological (how does our brain process colors) component (have you ever experienced an argument with another person about the color of an object?). You have also probably been all fooled by some well known optical illusions which is another example of the influence of the mind on the way we perceive shapes and colors. We won’t go into that much details, and we will stick to how we can represent, store and display colors in the world of computers however, this is just to say that the topic is much more complex than it looks at first glance. The study of color is usually referred to as color science which includes all the elements we have mentioned above: how does the brain process visual stimuli into what we perceive as colors, the use of colors from an artist point of view, and the study of electromagnetic waves which is responsible for light as it exists in the physical world. Dealing with colors within the realm of digital displays which is also a science on its own (which is sometimes refer as color management).

Light
It all start with light. Before we can look into colors we first need to understand light and how light interacts with matter. Light travels through space as electromagnetic waves but can also be described as a stream of particles which Einstein called photons (which is the reason we say that light has a dual wave-particle nature). In this lesson though, we will only consider light in its wave form. A periodic wave as we know, is defined by its frequency (the number of times a cycle is repeated per unit time) or its wavelength (which is the reciprocal of the frequency) which is the distance over which the wave’s shape repeats. The color of light can be seen as the equivalent of the concept of pitch for sound. Both are based on the wavelength or frequency of the signal traveling through space (check the lesson on light-matter interaction to learn more about light’s wavelength and frequency).

A wavelength is denoted with the greek letter λ (lambda). Visible light is made of waves which frequency varies from 380 to about 740 nanometres (a nanometre is 1×10−91×10−9 meter). Any waves which wavelength is below 380 nm or above 740 nm can not be perceived by the human eye. The following image shows the full spectrum of colors the visible light spectrum is made of (each color you see has a wavelength within the range of about 380 nm to 780 nm):

Figure 1: a) the length a complete cycle of the wave is called the wavelength of the periodic function. The wavelength of visible light varies from 380 nm to 740 nm. b) white light passing through a prism is decomposed into a rainbow of colors.

Most people are also familiar with the Newton experiment which consists of using a prism to decompose white light into a rainbow of colors (figure 1b). This experiment shows that white light is made of all the visible colors from the visible light spectrum, mixed in some proportions. The prism experiment can also be carried out the other way around. If we take all the light colors from the visible light spectrum and add them up in the same proportions, then we can recreate white light (figure 2). White light as such doesn’t exist. White light is the result of a light source, the sun or the screen of your computer, producing a mixture of light colors from the visible spectrum. If you examine your computer screen or television with a magnifying glass, you will see tiny dots, probably red, green and blue and by mixing these colors in different amounts, a large range of colors can be produced.

Figure 2: a wooden mannequin lit by a green, red and blue light. The three colors are mixed on the background which appears white.

Pointillism 点彩派 is a painting technique by which sensations of colors can be obtained by putting small dots of pure colors side by side in organised patterns rather than using the more traditional way of mixing colors on the palette. From the distance, the colored dots blend into one single color. Screens work in very similar fashion. Each pixel from the scene is actually made of three small components which emit red, green and blue light. By changing the amount of red, green and blue light emitted, we can create all the colors we need. From the distance these three separable elements are indistinguishable and the contribution of each light blend within each other to form one single light color. The next chapter will provide more information on the way screens actually work.