why the gases are invisible?

Answer 1

because their molecules are not tight enough to reflect any light back.. thats what color is..

the denser the molecules.. the more light they can reflect, or absorb... smoke for example..

Answer 2

Just so everyone knows, many gases have color (ex. chlorine gas is green). You do not need pigments to have color. Most things do not contain pigments like plants do. Look up at the sky. What color is it? It's blue because of how the light from the sun bends as it travels through the atmosphere, which is made up of air. The reason you don't see most gases has more to do with just the density. Have you ever seen a high pressure container? It has a higher density than a regular pressure container, but the inside does not look any different. Color can come from many different sources. Compounds can absorb light, transmit light, reflect light, and emit light. The color depends on the wavelenght, which is associated with the amount of energy of the light. The reason you don't see the air in front of you has a lot to do with the fact that reflects white light, which our eye perceives to be colorless.

Answer 3

The Kinetic Theory of Matter

Why can you put your hand through liquids or gases but not through solids? Yes, solids are
usually hard—but why? What happens to water (a liquid) when it becomes solid?
And what about gases? You can boil water, and turn it into water vapor, the gaseous form of
water. It floats off and mixes into the air, making the room you are in more humid. Or you can
let the helium out of a balloon and it mixes with the air in the room. That air is a mixture of
many other gases (mostly nitrogen, but also oxygen, carbon dioxide, water vapor, and others).
Each of these gases is invisible. Why? What is it about a gas that makes it invisible? The answer
to these all of these questions has to do with atoms and molecules.
Every substance is made up of atoms and molecules. Water is made up of water molecules,
whether it is in the form of ice, liquid water, or water vapor. The molecules that make up water
are constantly moving – faster in the liquid state than in the solid state, and even faster in the gas
state.
Molecules of liquids have more energy than those of solids, and gases have the highest energy of
the three states. While all matter is mostly empty space, the particles in a solid are close enough
that they form definite structures. They move—but more slowly than liquids or gases. In water,
for example, the negative ends of one molecule are attracted to the positive ends of other
molecules. This attraction holds each molecule in a set position, and the entire substance
maintains a definite shape and volume.
In the liquid state, the molecules have more energy and move faster. They can break out of their
rigid array and move past each other, bouncing off each other when they collide. They stay close
together, though, because they are not moving fast enough to break completely free from the
force of attraction that holds them together. They can change shape to adapt to their container.
But they can’t be compressed into a smaller volume.
In the gas state, the molecules move so fast that the force of attraction among them cannot hold
them together at all. Molecules of a gas move randomly and change direction only when they
bump into other molecules or the sides of the container. They spread out to fill their container. If
their “container” is the atmosphere, they spread out everywhere around the Earth, mixing with all
the different gases that make up the atmosphere. We say that gases do not have a definite volume
or definite shape.
There is a fourth state of matter, the plasma state. Plasma exists only at extremely high
temperatures. Plasma consists of electrically charged particles and, like a gas, has no definite
shape or volume. Stars are made of plasma.
Temperature is very important to the motion of molecules. An increase in temperature means an
increase in the average energy of the molecules. The warmer the temperature, the faster the
molecules move. A decrease in temperature means a decrease in the average energy of the
molecules. The colder the temperature, the slower the molecules move. This is why the
temperature of a substance determines its state.

Answer 4

Perhaps the fact that its molecules are so far apart is not really why gas is invisible. If you push the
molecules closer together by compressing the gas, it is still invisible. That is what you say, and it is
right.

Put the lid on an empty bottle. It is full of air, and you cannot see the air.
Now, fill up the bottle with clean water, right to the brim, so that there are no bubbles. Does it
look any different? Water is invisible too, and the molecules of water are not far apart -- they
mostly touch one another.

Answer 5

as gases are made of molecules which are far apart they do not form solid or liquid for light to reflect from them.hence they are invisible.

Answer 6

Hi Lacto Bacil... The molecules are far from each other. That is why light can easily go through the gas. You only can see an object, when it reflects light to your eyes (or the object gives light itself)

Answer 7

well for something to have color it must have pigments (or something like that) to absorb light. The colors of light that aren't absorbed are reflected back to our eyes. This is like a plant. The plant absorbs all but the green waves of light and they are bounced back to our eyes. So the gas must not have enough density or something to carry these pigments to reflect it back to our eyes.

Answer 8

well for something to have color it must have pigments (or something like that) to absorb light. The colors of light that aren't absorbed are reflected back to our eyes. This is like a plant. The plant absorbs all but the green waves of light and they are bounced back to our eyes. So the gas must not have enough density or something to carry these pigments to reflect it back to our eyes.

Answer 9

Sort of, especially when not grouped together. Water vapor absorbs very, very little light. But when grouped together, it may appear white to a dark gray because clouds and fog is groups of water vapor

Answer 10

Because particles are really small and have no color. If a gas has a slight tint to it it's easy to spot.