DK - WOW! The Visual Encyclopedia of Everything

114

COLOUR

Gifts of money are

given in red packets

at Chinese New Year,

because red is the

colour of luck

Yellow New York

taxis are easy to

spot in the distance

Light is the visible part

of the electromagnetic

spectrum. We see different

wavelengths of light as different

colours. The surfaces of objects

absorb some wavelengths and

reflect others. A white object

looks white because it reflects all

the wavelengths that fall

on it. A black object

absorbs all the

wavelengths, so

it appears dark.

Red food

packaging is

believed to

cause feelings

of hunger

SYMBOLISM

We use colours as symbols

to represent different ideas in

culture and religion. However,

the meaning of colours may vary.

For example, in some cultures

brides wear red, whereas in

others they wear white.

VIOLET

Light at the violet end of the

visible spectrum has a shorter

wavelength and higher

frequency than light at the

red end of the spectrum.

If the colours of the spectrum are

arranged in order on a colour wheel,

colours located opposite each other,

such as orange and blue, are called

complementary colours. When

complementary colours

are presented side by

side, they appear at

their brightest.

REAL COLOURS

The light reflected from an

object is made up of a range of

wavelengths. An object that

looks yellow might reflect

80 per cent of the light at

the yellow wavelength,

but also smaller amounts

of other colour wavelengths.

COMPLEMENTARY

COLOURS

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