Electromagnetic spectrum chart from the Wikimedia Commons
Yes, Virgina, there is a magenta by Chris Foresman
There is a nasty rumor making its way around the interconnected series of tubes we call the Internet.
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As visible light enters the eye and strikes the cone cells, the cells send electrical signals along the optic nerve to the brain. This is how our body “senses” light. Our brain interprets those three separate sensations to produce the perception that we call “color.”
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The truth is, no color actually exists outside of our brain’s perception of it. Everything we call a color—and there are a lot more than what comes in your box of Crayolas—only exists in our heads. We define color in terms of how our brains process the stimuli produced by a mix of wavelengths in the range of 400–700nm hitting specialized cells in our eyes—”one, or any mixture, of the constituents into which light can be separated in a spectrum or rainbow,” says the OED. Elliot’s article might be better titled, “Magenta is not a single wavelength of electromagnetic radiation in the ‘visible’ spectrum, but our brain perceives it anyway.”
…
As visible light enters the eye and strikes the cone cells, the cells send electrical signals along the optic nerve to the brain. This is how our body “senses” light. Our brain interprets those three separate sensations to produce the perception that we call “color.”
…
The truth is, no color actually exists outside of our brain’s perception of it. Everything we call a color—and there are a lot more than what comes in your box of Crayolas—only exists in our heads. We define color in terms of how our brains process the stimuli produced by a mix of wavelengths in the range of 400–700nm hitting specialized cells in our eyes—”one, or any mixture, of the constituents into which light can be separated in a spectrum or rainbow,” says the OED. Elliot’s article might be better titled, “Magenta is not a single wavelength of electromagnetic radiation in the ‘visible’ spectrum, but our brain perceives it anyway.”
This is a great article that uses science to explain interesting details about our brains and how we perceive the external world.
Related: How Our Brain Resolves Sight – more posts using science to explain the world – Science Explains: Flame Color – Electromagnetic Spectrum – Illusions, Optical and Other
As an artist-on a lot of different mediums. I have found this post to be very interesting. I have heard this before,but I really like that the chart was included. Sometimes it easier to “see” when things are visable!
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