No! Human vision relies on trichromacy, not the RGB colour model. However, the RGB colour model takes advantage of the way the human eye responds to red, green and blue light to reproduce and organise colours.
Dictionary category: Question
Does the retina in the human eye include a light sensitive layer of neurons?
Does the size of raindrops affect the colour of a rainbow?
Yes! If droplets are large, 1 millimetre or more in diameter, red, green, and violet are bright but blue is hardly visible.
Does the speed at which light travels change as it propagates through different transparent media?
Yes! The speed of light is affected by the medium through which it propagates.
Does the Sun emit electromagnetic radiation?
Yes! The energy that the sun emits is electromagnetic radiation which is also called light or sunlight.
Does the Sun produce light containing all the wavelengths of the visible spectrum?
Yes! The Sun radiates light at all wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum including the wavelengths of the visible spectrum.
Does the visible spectrum contain all the wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum?
No! The visible spectrum is just the small part of the electromagnetic spectrum our eyes are tuned to.
Does the wavelength of light change as it travels through different media?
Yes! The wavelength and speed at which light travels change as they travel through different media but frequency remains the same.
Give an example of a medium through which light travels more quickly?
The maximum speed of light occurs in a vacuum! Light travels in air at 99% of the speed of light in a vacuum.
How are rainbows formed?
How do sunlight and raindrops produce a primary rainbow?
Primary rainbows appear when sunlight is refracted as it enters raindrops, reflects once off the opposite interior surface, is refracted again as it escapes back into the air, and then travels towards an observer.
How do sunlight and raindrops produce secondary rainbows?
A secondary rainbow appears when sunlight is refracted as it enters raindrops, reflects twice off the inside surface, is refracted again as it escapes back into the air, and then travels towards an observer.
How do the refractive indices of different media affect the direction in which light travels?
When light crosses a boundary into a medium with a high refractive index (eg. diamond = 2.42) there is a significant change in direction and speed.
When light crosses a boundary into a medium with a low refractive index (eg. water = 1.333) there is a less significant change in direction or speed.
How does the angle of deviation of rays of sunlight affect the appearance of rainbows?
Deviation measures the degree to which raindrops cause sunlight to change direction in the process of its refraction and reflection back towards an observer. The position of raindrops in the sky and the amount of deviation determine whether the light will be visible to an observer.
How does the minimum angle of deviation of light passing through a raindrop affect the appearance of rainbows?
The minimum angle of deviation of a ray of light of any specific wavelength passing through a raindrop is the smallest angle to which it must change course before it becomes visible within the arcs of a rainbow to an observer.
How does the Sun produce energy?
The sun generates energy as a result of thermonuclear fusion.
How fast does sunlight travel through a vacuum?
Light travel at 299,792 kilometres per second in a vacuum (almost 300,000 km/sec) regardless of its wavelength or frequency.
How is amplitude shown on a drawing of an electromagnetic wave?
The amplitude of an electromagnetic wave is shown as the distance from the centre line (the still position) to the top of a crest or to the bottom of a corresponding trough.
How is chromatic dispersion related to refraction?
Every wavelength of light is affected to a different degree by the refractive index of a material and as a result changes direction by a different amount when passing from one medium (such as air) to another (such as glass or water).
How is frequency affacted as light travel from air into glass?
The frequency of incident light is unchanged as it travels from air into glass so its colour remains the same.