Process Essay: Contrasting Theories Of Color

Contrasting Theories of Color

There has always been an understood correlation between light and color. Color cannot be seen when there is no light,but if there is too much light the world will only appear white. Today there is an understanding of what it is that makes color and how light is the key to it. It is understood that an object appears to have a color only when its apparent color is reflected back. There is also a known correlation between the wavelengths of light and their apparent color. Along with the physics of color there is a greater understanding of the symbolic nature of color and how it affects the psychology of observers. Psychologists, artists, and therapists of all sorts have a greater understanding of the human perception

He came up with multiple hypotheses to explain what mechanical properties of light caused the appearance of different colors before setting on his actual theory of color. First, he proposed that rays of light moved at different speeds and this difference is what caused the different colors. For example, yellows and reds are caused by rays that move slowly, while green, blue, and purple rays move much quicker. He dismissed this hypothesis rather quickly and instead proposed that each color moved at the same speed but each were composed of particles that had their own set mass. The size of the particle determined with what force the ray impacted the eye. Red and yellow were larger and therefore made a harder impact on the eye and blue, green, and purple were smaller and so were not as harsh on the eye. Newton speculated on the plausibility of these theories but he dismissed them before actually beginning any experimentation. It was only once he began his experimentation with prisms that he formulated what we now consider Newton’s Theory on

He argued that white light is a pure substance and does not contain individual particles of color. Goethe argued that color was created by mixing light and darkness. An object perceived as yellow was a light object that was slightly subdued by darkness. If this light object was viewed through a what he called a turbid medium, then orange or red would be produced. A turbid medium is a substance such as dust that is found in the air which affects the perception of color. Goethe often used observable phenomena to support his theories, for this particular idea he cited the sun as an example. On a relatively clear day the sun will appear to be a soft yellow color, but if there is fog or smoke the sun will appear