In an absolutely zero light room, there is a red apple. Is it really red with no light?

Question

I mean without any light whatsover, how do we know what color it actually is????

Answer 1

In an ABSOLUTELY zero light room, there would be no radiation of any kind. No visible light, no infrared, no ultraviolet, no radiowaves, no microwaves, etc. However, if any of the molecules are in an excited state, then eventual collisions with other molecules will transfer photons between them, in violation of the given conditions. Thus, none of the molecules on the apple are in an excited state. However, based on statistical mechanics, this is only allowed when the temperature of the system is absolute zero. Given the third law of thermodynamics, it is impossible to achieve absolute zero in a finite number of steps, and presuming that we haven't been dealing with this apple from the infinite past, then the conditions given above are ruled out by a simple RAA proof. :-)

A little more seriously, red is actually a property of light, specifically light with a wavelength of roughly 600-700 nanometres. If there's no light, then there's no red light. Essentually, the apple itself has no colour, just the light that's reflected off of it.

Hope that helps.

Answer 2

To determine that an object is red, requires three parameters.

1. The light source on the object
2. The property of the object's surface on the light source
3. The property of the observer's reception on the reflected light from the object

If you remove any of these items, a part of the equation is affected.

If your light source is emitting blue light, the apple may look dark. If there were no light, you will not be able to tell that it is red. Red is not a property of the apple. The property of the apple is its ability to reflect red light and absorb the other colors. For example, you are a good striker. But if I do not throw a ball at you, you cannot show that you are a good striker, even though you are still there.

Answer 3

I had a teacher who asked us a similar question - when you put your coat in a closet, how can you be certain it is still in there when you close the door.
Technicaly these questions are a bit philisophical, HOWEVER, a RED APPLE will allways be red no matter if the room has no light or not.

All matter has atoms in it. The atoms in the apple's skin are continuously in motion and giving off their own electomagnetic signature.

We see RED because our eyes interpret the frequency of light reflected off the apple's skin as red. However, whether we see the apple or not, it will allways be giving off some sort of ALBEDO.
Albedo is a ratio of scattered to incident electromagnetic radiation power, most commonly light.

Even in a pitch black room, there will be EM energy given off by the apple in other forms of the EM spectrum such as infra red (heat) as well as other forms.

If I were to be outside this dark room with a MICROWAVE scanner, I'd be able to determine the color of the apple based on the EM energy it was giving off. A Computer with the appropriate software could decipher the data and tell me the color of the apple.

The apple cannot change it's skin color so it is logically neccessary that it will allways be Red no matter it be in a dark room or a bank vault.

Answer 4

No. It is not red without light.

The perception of red comes from the interaction of the light reflected off off the skin of the apple with the cones in the retina of the eye, and the brain's interpretation of that information. You know, there are color blind who can't see "red."

What is constant is the type of material of the apple skin. In the presence of enough full spectral light for visibility, a "red" apple always dominantly reflects the frequency, approximately 448,000,000,000,000 Hz, that strikes most human eyes as red light.

Nonetheless, this leads me to speculate: God created the laws of physics as foundation for the universe and our physical life. I would wager, however, that this-all is a complex reflection of His outside-time-and-space reality, and that all of the colors are instrinsically real and perceivable without explanation when we depart from the constraint of this finite physical life.

Answer 5

If we know we are eating an apple by the taste, we assume the color based on memory and common sense. I guess it's all mind's eye and sensory perception.
Oh and- how do we know what color it is in the light? What if the so called "color blind" of the world are really seeing the true colors and the rest of us are seeing it wrong?

Answer 6

You wouldn't know. An apple isn't red. The light reflecting off the apple back into your eyes is red.

Answer 7

well if you knew the apple was red when you put it in the room it doesnt change the properties of the apple. I just dont know how you would be able to tell waht it is in a room where you cant see anything at all

Answer 8

there is no color since you need light to see the shade that is reflected off of the apple, which would be red, if you had light.

Answer 9

Apple has no color of its own. Similarly the ray of light that falls on it also has no colour.

The color is in our brain. We perceive the apple as red if certain light reflected by apple makes us perceive as red.

When no light falls on it, it is not reflecting no light and there fore we are not perceiving any color.

Answer 10

u can't see anyhting withou light coz only when light falls on object teh object reflects all colours except its own and thus we are able to c this object with dat particular color. so no way u can find it thru eyes but ya from the taste if it;s juicy u can tell it's red.