How and why do we see colour?

The ancient Egyptians, Sistine Chapel, Van Gogh’ s Starry night and Dr Frankenstein have some eye-opening chemistry in common, and it all has to do with colour. Starting from lapis skies and cerulean waves, Stacey and Clinton shine a light on how and why we see colour, the visible light spectrum, additive and subtractive colour and changes to colour underwater. The science of colour is never black and white, from Monet's ultraviolet vision, colour blind male monkeys, to pigments, peacocks and pyrotechnics, it’s the full science spectrum of biology, chemistry and physics all in one.

Curriculum Links

Chemistry: Chemical reactions, elements, compounds, and properties of substances including exploring the chemical composition of pigments like Prussian blue and the reactions involved in their synthesis or investigating the combustion process and the flame test's role in identifying elements.

Physics: Light, the electromagnetic spectrum, and energy transfer. Including analysing the wavelengths of light and their relationship to color perception and understanding how light behaves in different mediums (e.g., water) and how this affects colour.

Biology: Human and animal vision, genetics, and evolution.For example, examining the structure of the eye and how it perceives colour and discussing the genetic basis of colour vision and how it has evolved in different species.

History of Science: Scientific discoveries and methods including tracing the history of pigment discovery and the development of synthetic colours and investigating the evolution of theories about light and colour, from Newton to modern understanding.

Earth and Space Science: Sunlight and light's properties in different environments. Exploring how sunlight interacts with the atmosphere and affects the colours we see and understanding how light behaves underwater and the implications for marine life and colour perception.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.