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Do different colored lights affect how images are seen or interpreted? Can colors show help people visualize images? Does sexuality cause people to like or dislike a color? What effect does environmental color have on someone's mood?
Question Date: 2013-01-08
Answer 1:

Yes, different colored lights affect the images we see. Normally when white light hits a pigmented object -- for example let's say red fabric -- the fabric absorbs all colors except red: it reflects red light, which is why we perceive it as red. The same is true of other colors (green plants reflect green light, blue paper reflects blue light, etc.). Let's go back to this red fabric we were thinking about. If we now pass the white light through a blue filter, which only transmits blue light, the fabric will now appear very dark. This is because what we were calling the red fabric absorbs everything except for red light. If the only source of light is blue, and it is absorbing all of it, nothing will be reflected and the shirt will look very dark or black. On the other hand, if we passed white light through a red filter, the fabric would still look red since it would be receiving only red light but reflecting all (or most) of it! I hope this helps.



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