It seems simple enough: red and yellow makes orange…
Color is a funny thing. If we combine opaque red paint and opaque yellow paint in the correct quantities, we get orange paint. Or do we? Consider this. If the red paint contains an opaque pigment responsible for its color, and if the yellow paint contains an opaque pigment responsible for its color, and the two are such that there is no chemical reaction between the pigments, we do not actually form orange, do we? It’s just a mixture of red and yellow.
As Simple as Red and Yellow Makes Orange?
In reality it is simply a larger batch of the two paints in the same container. So it must be the eye that perceives the mixture as being a batch of orange paint. The eye perceives the orange color. It is all in our heads. Do I hear the words issuing from the reader’s mouth, saying, “This guy doesn’t know what he’s talking about?” If I am correct, the solution to the question of color lies either within the eye or within the center that processes the eye’s output information – the brain.
I’m Seeing Dots Before My Eyes
In fact, it is a relatively simple task to demonstrate the fact. Although printing methods have improved, satisfactory color printing sometimes applies the method of using very tiny dots. This method relies on tricking the eye by means of resolution. The dots are seen as one mass, and that message is passed on to the brain. The brain interprets the very tiny dots of red and very tiny dots of yellow as being one color – orange.
Note: You might also enjoy Eye Color and Genetic Inheritance: Dominant -vs.- Recessive
References:
- Abelard: Orange is Tertiary: The Theory of Colour
- Pantone: How Do We See Color? An Introduction to Color and the Human Eye
