Rainbows and spectra

Lights of different colours can be combined to make other colours, for example in television.

Light and colour

Light is a small part of all electromagnetic radiation.

It is sensed by the eyes and interpreted by the brain to produce the visual sensation of images in colour.

Visible white slight is a mixture of several colours which can be separated.

Colour in our surroundings results from the selective absorption and reflection of the illuminating light.

The observed colour depends on the object itself, the light in which it is seen and our individual eyesight.

How animals see things is explained under 'Animals and Colour'.