Why doesn't magenta appear in the rainbow? The answer lies not in physics but in biology. I found this extremely interesting!
Science presenter Steve Mould demonstrates the strange phenomenon of color mixing, in which not everything is as it seems. The cone cells within our eyes are responsible for the colors we see, but are only sensitive to Red, Green and Blue light. So how are we able to see so many colors when we can only directly detect three and how do our brains see the color magenta which doesn't have a wavelength?
Length: 6 minutes
"The cone cells within our eyes ... are only sensitive to Red, Green and Blue light."
ReplyDeleteThis quote is quite misleading for a couple of reasons. For a detailed critique please see:
http://www.huevaluechroma.com/037.php
David Briggs