color temperature?

Question

Do colors have different temperatures? If they do, are they different in the spectrum? Please help me! I have a science project that I have to do and I don't know what topic I should do except this one!

Answer 1

The term "color temperature" comes from a very well studied phenomenon in physics. It is called "blackbody radiation" and works like this.

If we want to study the light (radiation) given off by a chunk of matter, we need to eliminate or ignore any light it *reflects*. One way to do this is to have a metal or ceramic object with hole in it, and we measure the color of the hole ... so any light we detect from the hole has to radiating from the matter inside the object, not reflected light. This is what we call a "black body."

For a simple aproximation, turn off all the lights, and turn on your toaster. The light that glows from inside the toaster, the light from the heating elements, is black body radiation.

If we take a black body and heat it, the color we measure follows a very consistent pattern. As it gets hotter it starts to glow a dull red (like the heating elements in the toaster). As it gets hotter it gets brighter, but it also changes from a dull red to orange, then yellow, then white, then blue.

That is the color temperature. It is the exact mapping of a certain temperature that you heat an object, and the color of the light it gives off (independent of the brightness).

Answer 2

Color temperature simply refers to the amount of energy that is absorbed by an object The higher reflective quality of a surface generates a stronger light reflection.

Color temperature is noticeable in the older color photography. So there is some conflict in the result. A blue is said to have a lower color temperature. A red based film has a higher temperature. Sort of like fire.

Color temperature is often expressed in photography that way. In fact I will give you a link which simply repeats the same thing I was going to explain to you.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_temperature

Oh a note of caution. Rewrite the information. The teacher has access to the same resource I used. But expects the same answer. So don't swipe copy or paste. Rewrite it so it looks like you know the topic which you will because you would have to know it to rewrite it. This works.