What gives things colour?

Answer 1

The atomic structure interacts with light particles and prevents certain wavlengths from reaching your eyes. LIght is made of many wavelengths, each one is a different color. The wavelength that hits your eye is the color you think the object is.

Answer 2

Electromagnetic radiation (light) is emitted from the sun and eventually reaches the earth. Once it reaches the earth objects reflect certain wavelengths of that radiation giving it color. The color we see is actually being reflected off the object and all other wavelengths are being absorbed by that object. Hence, if I see something red, all the wavelengths of light are being absorbed except for that one wavelength which emits red light.

White light (white objects) is a reflection of the combination of all wavelengths of light. Black light (black objects) is a combination of all wavelengths being absorbed. This is the simplest way of explaining light and color without going into detail as to what light really consists of.

Answer 3

All the previous answers, although maybe right, fall short of the real reason why things have color. As electromagnetic (EM) radiation strikes atoms it excites some of the electrons into higher orbitals. When the electrons go back to their ground states they emit characteristic radiation, which (sometimes) falls in the visible light part of the EM spectrum. Thus, we see things giving off color.

Answer 4

White light consists of three colors red, green and blue.When light falls on an object, some of its components are absorbed by the object.It depends on the nature of the object that which colors will be absorbed by it.The color which is not absorbed by the object is scattered by the object and this gives us a false impression of the color of an object.
An object doesn't have any absolute color.For example, see a red rose in green light, it will appear to be black.

Answer 5

http://www.rocksforkids.com/FabFours/colour_response.html


We take a lot of things for granted, especially when it comes to color. It just seems to be there, but where does it come from? The answer is quite simple; color comes from the visible light that surrounds us. The phenomenon of color being derived from light has its roots in the physical sciences. We can take visible light and split it into the smaller components of color using a prism. Some people refer to this colorful display as the colors of the rainbow, but in science we refer to it as the colors of the spectrum. We discuss this whole process in the section titled; ROYGBIV.



Have you ever wondered where the color in the fall leaves comes from? How about all the different colors that are in plants and trees during the normal growing season? All those greens, reds, oranges, yellows, purples, and blues are composed of different pigments of color. The pigments are made up of different molecules, that are listed in the chart below. So, the colors you see during a regular growing season and during the fall are produced from molecules and their interaction with light. As light interacts with any molecule some amazing things are taking place.

First, the dominant molecule that is present is absorbing a lot of different colors and reflecting one of those colors. Remember, all color has a certain wavelength, so a molecule will absorb certain wavelengths and reflect a wavelength. The wavelength that is reflected is the color that we see in the plant or leaf color. For example, let's look at the chlorophyll molecule. Chlorophyll, when it is present as the dominant molecule, will make a plant part or leaf appear green to the observer. So, chlorophyll is absorbing all the other wavelengths of color and reflecting the wavelength that appears green. The same is true for the other colors that are present in a plant. The orange in a pumpkin indicates that there is a different molecule present which is making the pumpkin appear orange to the observer, The dominant molecule that is present in a pumpkin is classified as a carotene. This class of molecules is absorbing all the wavelengths of color except the orange wavelength. So, the orange wavelength is reflected and is visible to the observer. The same is true for a banana.

However, bananas and pumpkins are green when they are growing, so how do we explain the different colors? The explanation is quite simple and will help us understand the change in leaves during the fall. The banana and pumpkin have chlorophyll as the dominant molecule when they are growing, so we see the green color. However, when it is harvest time for the pumpkin the chlorophyll molecule decreases and now the dominant molecule is a carotene. The green fades from the pumpkin and is replaced by the orange being reflected by the carotene. The same is true for the banana that is ripening on your kitchen countertop. The chlorophyll is no longer being produced by the plant and the carotene in the banana becomes the dominant molecule and now the yellow wavelength is reflected and present to the observer. Carotene offers a wide range of wavelength absorption and reflection, as does the anthocyanins.

The second thing that we want to mention about light and molecules is this; light can make a molecule dance. Light can energize a molecule and make it do different things. Light and other forms of energy will make a molecule twist, and bend, and rotate, and just go wibble-wobble crazy. We discuss these phenomenon in the spectroscopy section. However, the most remarkable interaction between light and a molecule has to be the process of photosynthesis. The photosynthesis process supplies the plant with food, while cleansing the air of carbon dioxide and supplying us with oxygen. We discuss the process in the photosynthesis section.



Color
Chemical Molecule
Examples of
Plants, Vegetables, and Fruits

Green
Chlorophyll
Green leaves and green bananas

Yellow
Carotenoids
Corn, daffodils, bananas

Orange
Carotenoids
Pumpkins, carrots. oranges

Brown
Carotenoids
Brown leaves, potatoes

Red
Anthocyanins
Tomatoes, red grapes, strawberries

Purple
Anthocyanins
Eggplant, grapes, plums

Blue
Anthocyanins
Blueberries

We stated earlier that tree leaves are primarily green due to chlorophyll being the dominant molecule present in the tree leaf. There other molecules are present in a smaller amount and serve a dual role purpose. They assist in the overall maintenace of the leaf and to some extent the production of glucose. Learn more about these processes in the leaf anatomy section. These molecules show their presence in the fall when chlorophyll production ceases. The secondary molecules are evident in the fall foilage. The carotenes produce a wide range of color from orange, to yellow, and to brown. The anthocyanins produce colors from red, to purple, to blue. So, the same molecules that are present as a primary color in vegetables are now reflecting the color wavelength that gives us the beautifull colors of fall

Answer 6

the colour of any object is the colour reflected by that object for example the plants are greee that means they absorb all other colours from white light and reflect the green light.

Answer 7

all things have differnet levels and angles and blah blah blah and the light hitting these things i think which is called white light has all the colors of the rainbow and when relflected off sumthing the iteam shows that certain color which is also how rainbos are made by splitting this light you can see an example by useing a prisim!-Nate

Answer 8

The color of anything is the result of light reflected from the thing due to its chemical structure. Without a light source the color of anything cannot be seen.

Answer 9

The responsible part of the eye structure which makes possible to see colors are the cones, photosensitive receptors in the retina .

Answer 10

Chemicals
Light