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This exhibit is a public service of the Institute for Dynamic Educational Advancement (IDEA).
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Edited by Michael Douma. Major contributers include Sang Yoon Lee, and Juraj Lipscher. Further credits below.
Supported in part by the U.S. Department of Education, Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education, FIPSE (P116B011454).
> See the Bibliography for suggested references for more information.
Note about the selected "mechanisms": As in any attempt at detailed classification, there is an element of choice, with some overlaps and some near-arbitrary assignments. The scheme uses five major groupings based on the fundamental mechanisms involved: Three of these, vibrations and simple excitations, energy bands, and geometrical and physical optics, are usually considered to be part of the physics curriculum; molecular orbitals are usually a part of chemistry; and ligand fields may be covered in either discipline. It is rare, however, for even an extended academic treatment of such topics to concern itself with the colors as such.
Detailed credits & references
This exhibit is inspired by and adapted from "The Fifteen Causes of Color: The Physics and Chemistry of Color," by Kurt Nassau. In Color Research and application. John Wiley & Sons. 1987.
Introductions: Color vision in humans, and light spectra from "The architecture of the human color center," by A. Bartels and S. Zeki, European Journal of Neuroscience 12(1), 172-193 (2000). Some visual brain and Matisse quote from "Art and the Brain," S. Zeki, Daedalus 127, 71-103 (1998). Comments about fauvism from "Three cortical stages of color processing in the human brain," S. Zeki & L. Marini, Brain 121, 1669-1685 (1998). Philosophy of what is color, Arthur Schopenhauer, from "Splendorous and miseries of the brain," S. Zeki, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B. 354, 2053-2065 (1999). Microconsciousness in the brain from "Toward a Theory of Visual Consciousness," S. Zeki, A. Bartels, Consciousness and Cognition 8, 225-259 (1999). Some background on color from "Spectral Selectivity" by Ed Scott, 1997. Brightness constancy analogy (pieces of chalk and coal analogy) from E. Hering, "Zur Lehre von Lichtsinne," 1878, Carl Gerold Sohn, Vienna; translated in Fiorentini, et al, in Visual Perception (Spillman and Werner, Eds), 1990; via Werner and Ratliff, "Some origins of the Lightness and Darkness of Colors - in the Visual Arts and in the Brain," Techne, Number 9-10, 1999, Paris. Moreau and LePrince from Catching the Light: The Entwined History of Light and Mind by Arthur Zajonc, 1995. Kant quote from his Prolegomena. [See full text] Descent from the Cross explanation from "Bloomsbury Guide to Art," Edited by Shearer West, 1996. Some data about lamp energy requirements from Lighting Systems. Images and descriptions of various lamps in colored boxes from "Light" by David Burnie, published by Eyewitness Books, p 52. Images: André Derain, "Charing Cross Bridge, London," 1906, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, John Hay Whitney Collection. Pierre-Auguste Renoir, "Strawberries" (c.1905); Oil on canvas, 28 x 46cm; Musee de l'Orangerie at Paris. Sketch of Kant, by J. L. Raab, Nach Döbler. Descent from the Cross, by Pedro Machuca, 1547; panel; Museo del Prado, Madrid. Descent from the Cross, by Rembrandt van Rijn, 1634; oil on canvas, 62 x 46 in. (158 x 117 cm); Hermitage, St. Petersburg. Descent from the Cross, by Max Beckmann, 1917; oil on canvas, Museum of Modern Art, New York. Idea for Electromagnetic spectrum figure adapted from Elizabeth Moxon, MicroWorlds (1996), Advanced Light Source, Berkeley Lab Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, operated by the University of California for the United States. Eye cross-section adapted from Ed Scott. Historical color systems courtesy Hans Irtel.Testing Hg vapor lamps, from the Smithsonian Institution American Museum of Natural History (CD 1964066 E&MP27.028), 1937. Original Caption by Science Service ©Westinghouse. This Hg image and the original caption has been donated by Science Service and is presented to you as they appeared in period publications. The captions were written by Science Service journalists and have been transcribed exactly. Although these images are protected by copyright, we encourage you to use them for academic and non-commercial pursuits.
Incandescence: Lightblub and Edison: Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Museum. Arc Lamps: Charles Brush at VoltNet. The Sun: NinePlanets. Blacksmith photo: Windsor Star. The Blacksmith is Pio Colini, at Steel Mobilia Wrought Iron Furniture and Accessories, a Walkerville business in the old Peabody Building. Photo by Scott Webste. Fire eater photo: William Rodrigues. Color temperatures data Photography by Infrared : Its Principles and Applications - Walter Clark/H Lou Gibson - Chapman and Hall (1939) and Wiley (1946 and 1978), via Andy Finney. Microgravity candle candle flame: Nasa New Science, and Microgravity Combustion Science Discipline Brochure.
Gas excitations: Absorbtion of beryl: D. L. Wood and K. Nassau, Am. Mineral. 53, 777 (1968) via Nassau. Auroras from from special edition of the German "Spektrum" magazine (Scientific American), Kristian Schlegel in "Die Farben des Himmels," Spektrum, Spezial Farben, April 2000. Intro to the solar wind: Kenneth Chang, "New Assignment for Satellite System," December 19, 2000, The New York Times. Folklore and description of the aurora: Northern Lights and the Space Environment Center's topic paper on Auroras. Detail image of the earth's magnetosphere from Windows on the Universe at the University of Michigan. Aurora photo series courtesy Jan Curtis, from the night of 6-7 February, 2000, at Chena Hot Springs Resort, some 70 miles east of Fairbanks. (Fuji 800 NHGII print film, 35 mm lens at f/1.4 to f/2.0 (exposure: 10-12 seconds). Auroras from the space shuttle: NASA JSC Digital Image Collection, NASA Photos, 06 May 1991, Aurora Australis, Sinuous Loop and Red Crown. Saturn's Aurora taken by the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) on board the Hubble Space Telescope. October 1998. Also, more aurora color origins.
Vibrations and rotations: Why is water blue: adapted from "Why is water blue?" Charles L. Braun and Sergei N. Smirnov. J. Chem. Edu., 1993, 70(8), 612. Full text available. Hydrogen bonding from Martin Chaplin at South Bank University, UK. Surface of Europa courtesy Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Red Sea adapted from Ask Yahoo, also Sir Thomas Browne (1646; 6th ed., 1672) Pseudodoxia Epidemica (Read text) VI:ix. Browne Biography from the Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2000, Columbia University Press. More red sea from Dr. Abdullah Banaja, "The Red Sea," The Siren No. 14, 1981. Cyanobacteria from Koning, Ross E. 1994. "Cyanophyta". Plant Physiology Website. Buoyancy info and photo of scientist sampling Trichodesmium is Andrew Negri of Australian Institute of Marine Science. Photo of bloom from space from NASA JSC Digital Image Collection (NASA PHOTO ID: STS009-35-1622). Island from space, (NASA Photo ID: STS73702051).
Transition-metals:
Images: Ruby gem from Gemcolor catalogue, mineral fromThe Mineral Gallery. Emerald and beryll gem from Multicolour Gem suppliers. Emerald and beryll mineral from Mineralogy database.
Organic compounds: Chlorophyll from Paul May, University of Bristol.
Marsh marigold visible from Wild Ireland, ultraviolet by Thomas Eisner in National Geographic magazine, July 1999. Indian yellow, cochineal insects detail and harvesting from National Geographic magazine, July 1999.
Charge transfer
Metals
Pure semiconductors
Doped semiconductors: Hope diamond from Encyclopedia Smithsonian and NMNH.
Color centers
Dispersive refraction
Scattering: Colors of the sky from from special edition of the German "Spektrum" magazine (Scientific American), Kristian Schlegel in "Die Farben des Himmels," Spektrum, Spezial Farben, April 2000. The little girl with blue eyes is named Ruby, photo from blueyz6315. Earthrise, NASA #G69-44-6552; HQ ref: AS11-44-6552; taken by Apollo 11 Astronauts; date: Jul 16, 1969.Full moon rising, from Space Shuttle Discovery, NASA #S103-E-5037, date: 21 December 1999. Skyglow from Art Upgren, "Dissecting light pollution" in Sky and Telescope. Limonite on Mars from Color in Nature by Farrant. Mars missions from NASA's National Space Science Data Center (Goddard Space Flight Center). "Why isn't the Martian sky blue like the Earth's?" from Dr. David Catling, Mars Atmosphere Group, NASA's Ames Research Center. Leonardo da Vinci and Sir John Tyndall drawing from Polarized Lighting. Basic optics, Rayleigh Scattering and Mie Scattering from online CD-ROM files, Lecture 4, from Aug 5, 1998, Atmospheric Chemistry and Dynamics Branch of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. Different views of sunrise at Kitt's Peak from "Color and Light in Nature" by David K. Lynch and William Livingstone, page 40.
Batman cover from William F. Jourdain's The Golden Age of Batman, Batman Comics, Batman 59, June-July, 1950's. "Batman" and all related characters and symbols depicted in this site are the copyrighted works and trademarks of DC Comics, Inc. Sky color simulations by Sang Yoon Lee.
Interference: Information about butterflies, shells, and electron micrographs from "Nature's Iridescence: An Electron Microscopic Study" from ME 111Q - Introduction to Scanning Electron Microscopy, at the electron microscopy facility, University of Rochester. The butterflies for the SEM came from the collection of Randi Jones, a butterfly artist form Kingston, WA. More photos and info from special edition of the German "Spektrum" magazine (Scientific American), "Schillernde Schmettlingsflügel," Spektrum, Spezial Farben, April 2000. Photo of morpho butterfly with closed wings from J-Philippe Soule at CASKE 2000. More butteryfly photos: Chrysiridia riphaeus - uraniidae (Madagascar) - The beautiful world of butterflies, by thais.it. Information about butterfly Morpho menelaus from Enchanted Learning. Background from Singapore Zoological Gardens Docent. Wing structure from H.F. Nijhonf: The Color Patterns of Butterflies and Moths, Scientific Am. 1981, 245, p. 104-115. Diagram of scales from Pete Vukusic and Roy Sambles of the Thin Film Photonics Group at University of Exeter, UK. Additional information, and diagram adapted from New Scientist, 26 June 1999. Quote from Sir Theodore de Mayerne about peacocks from BBSRC. Bubbles: David Stein photo from BubbleSphere. Bubble cluster from Photodisc. Stomatopod crustaceans from Roy L. Caldwell, Professor of Integrative Biology, Department of Integrative Biology, University of California at Berkeley.
Diffraction:
Animal vision: Color Vision of Birds from Francisco J. Varela, Adrian G. Palacios, and Timothy H. Goldsmith in "Vision, brain, and behavior in birds". Eds. Zeigler and Bischof. 1993. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Dog experiments in 1969 by Anita Rosengren; dogs and colored circles by Gerald Jacobs; opinion about non-primate mammals by Margaret Livingstone. Mitchell, Joan, Ici (1992), Oil on canvas; diptych, 9' 2 1/4" x 13' 1 1/2" (260 x 400 cm) overall, Saint Louis Art Museum, Missouri. Butterfly UV photos from Eddie Aicken, when he was obtaining his degree in Biological Imaging, at the University of Derby, UK. Japanese yellow swallowtail butterfly physiology from Kentaro Arikawa. Papilio xuthus color constancy from Michiyo Kinoshita, Kentaro Arikawa, "Colour constancy of the swallowtail butterfly papilio xuthus" The Journal of Experimental Biology 203, 3521–3530 (2000). Honeybee nm, and UV of blackeyed susan from John W. Kimball. Printed sources, compiled by Dr. Diana K Hews. General: Bradbury J.W. and Vehrencamp, S.L. 1998. Principles of Animal Communication. Sinaeur Press. Dusenbery, DB. (1992) Sensory Ecology: How Organisms Acquire and Respond to Information. W.H. Freeman and Co., NY. Kandel, ER, Schwartz, JH and Jessel TM. (1991). Principles of Neural Science. Elsevier, New York. Camhi, J. (1984). Neuroethology. Signals: Hailman, J.P. (1977) Optical signals: animal communication and light. Indiana University Press, Bloomington. Lythgoe, J.N. (1979) The Ecology of Vision. Claredon Press. Oxford. Ali, MA and Klyne, MA (1985) Vision in Vertebrates. Plenum Press, NY. Mechanisms: Snyder AW, Laughlin & Stavenga (1977). Information capacity of eyes. Vision Research 17: 1163-1175. Goldsmith, T. H. (1990). Optimization, constraint & history in the evolution of eyes. Q Rev Bio 65: 281-322. Vanegas, H (1984) Comparative neurology of the optic tectum. Plenum Press, New York (an editied volume on all major vertebrate groups). Toveé, MJ (1995) Trends in Ecology and Evolution 10:455-460 (review of UV perception in animals, good introduction to physiological literature- mostly focuses on navigation). Fox, D.L.(2976) Animal Biochromes and Structural Colors. 2nd Edition. University of California Press, Berkeley (physical, chemical, distributional and physiological features of colors in animals). Birds Waldovogel, JA. (1990). The bird's eye view. American Scientist 78:342-353 (visual specialization, visual acuity, dual foveas, double cones and detection of polarized light). Zeigler, H.P & Bischof, H.J. (1993). Vision, Brain, and Behavior in Birds. MIT Press. Cambridge, Mass (good book with research and reviews of major areas of vision research). Burkhardt, D. (1989) UV vision: a birds eye view of feathers J. Comp. Physiol A 164: 787-796. Burkhardt, D. (1982) Birds, berries and UV: a note on some consequences of UV vision in birds Naturwissenschaften 69: 153-157. Chen, DM & Goldsmith TH. (1986) Four spectral classes of cone in the retinas of birds. J. Comp. Physiol A 159: 473-479 (data on sixteen species of birds). Mammals Olson, CR and SN Gettner. (1995). Object-centered direction selectivity in the macaque suplementary eye field. Science 269:985-988 (document neurons with sensory receptive fields that are defined relative to an object-centered frame. neurons fire differentially as a function of the end of the bar to wich eye movement was made). Logothetis, NK Schiller, PH, Charles, ER, and Hurlbert AC. (1990). Perceptual deficits and the activity of the color-opponent and broad-band pathways at isoluminance. Science 247:214. Nakayama, K and Shimojo, S. (1992). Experiencing and perceiving visual surfaces. Science 257:1257 Neitz, M, Neitz, and Jacobs, G. (1991). Spectral tuning of pigments underlying red-green color vision. Science 252:971 (variations in cone photopigments in humans and variation in red-green color vision). Fish: Hawryshyn, C.W. (1992). Polarization vision in fish. Am Zool 80:164-175 (fish see the pattern of polarized light underwater. specialized UV receptors in the retina play a role; probably used in orientation and navigation). Levine, JS and MacNichol EF (1982). Color vision in fishes. Sci. Am 246:140. Vanegas, H, Williams, B and Essayag, E (1984). Electrophysiological and behavioral aspects of the teleostean optic tectum. pp 121-162 in Vanegas, H. ed. (ibid above). Insects: Menzel, R. & Backhaus, W. (1991) Colour vision in insects. IN J. Cronly-Dillon, (Ed.) Vision and Visual Dysfunction. Vol. 6 P. Gouras ed. pp.262-293. Rossell S and Wehner R (1986) Polarization vision in bees. Nature 323:128-132 (Drosophila gene for eye devep. & mammlian gene / common evolutionary heritage/in Science'95 or 96.). Rutowski, R.L. (1977) The use of visual cues in sexual and species discrimination by males of the small sulfur butterfly Eurema lisa (Lepidoptera, Pieridae). J. Comp Phys 115:61-74. Reptiles: Arnold, K. & Neumeyer C. (1987) Wavelength discrimination in the turtle, Pseudemys scripta elegans. Vision Res 27: 1501-1511. Underwood, G. (1970). The eye. pp 1-97, in C. Gans, ed. Biology of the Reptilia. Vol 2. Academic Press. Stein, BE and Gaither, NS. (1983). Receptive field properties in reptilian optic tectum: some comparisons with mammals. J. Neurophysiology (Bethesda) 50:102-124. Fite, KV, Lister BC. (1981). Bifoveal vision in Anolis lizards. Brain, Behavior, and Evolution 19:144-154. Fleishman, LJ, Loew, ER & Leal, M. (1993) Ultraviolet vision in lizards. Nature 365:397. Ellingson, J.M,Fleishman, L.J., Loew E.R. (1995). Visual pigments and spectral sensitivity of the diurnal gecko Gonatodes albogularis. Journal of Comparative Physiology 177: 559-567. Cooper W.E.Jr and Greenberg, N. (1992) Reptilian coloration and behavior, pp 298-422 in C. Gans and D. Crews, eds. Hormones, Brain, and Behavior, Biology of the Reptilia Vol 18, Physiology E. University of Chicago Press, IL extensive review of mechanisms and function. Morrison, RL, Sherbrooke, WC and Frost-Mason SK. (1996). Temperature sensitive, physiolgically active iridophores in the lizard, Urosaurus ornatus: an ultrastructural analysis of color change. Copeia 1996:804-812. Function & applications: Endler, JA. (1992). Signals, signal conditions and the direction of evolution. American Naturalist 139:S125-S153 (environmental effects on visual signal transmission, and signal predictions for different types of habitats. focuses on color signals). Levine, JS and MacNichol EF (1979). Visual pigments in teleost fishes: effects of habitat, microhabitat and behavior on visual system evolution. Sensory Pro 3:95. Fleishman, L. J. (1985) Cryptic movement in the vine snake Oxybelis aeneus. Copeia 1985(1):242-245. Fleishman, L. J. (1986) Motion detection in the presence and absence of background motion in an anolis lizard. J. Comp Physiol A 159:711-720. Fleishman, L. J. (1992) The influence of the sensory system and the environment on motion patterns in the visual displays of anoline lizards and other vertebrates. American Naturalist 139:S36-S61. Lloyd, JE and Wing, SR. (1983). Nocturnal aerial predation of fireflies by light-seeking fireflies. Science 22: 634-635. Case, JF (1984). Vision in the mating behavior of fireflies. pp195-221 in Insect Communication. Royal Entomological Scoiety of London. Alberts, AC (1989). Ultraviolet visual sensitivity in desert iguanas: implication for pheromone detection. Anim Behaviour 38:129-137. Viitala, J, Korplmakl, Palokangas P, and Kolvula M. (1995). Attraction of kestrels to vole scent marks visible in ultraviolet light. Nature 373:425-427. Cooper W.E.Jr and Greenberg, N. (1992) Reptilian coloration and behavior, pp 298-422 in C. Gans and D. Crews, eds. Hormones, Brain, and Behavior, Biology of the Reptilia Vol 18, Physiology E. University of Chicago Press, IL extensive review of mechanisms and function. Dogs: A review of "Vision in dogs" from article by Paul E. Miller DVM and Christopher J. Murphy.
Other: Mineral postage stamps: Philatelic Mineralogy by Richard Busch. Photos not credited are from the private collection of Michael Douma, or licensed from stock agencies including Corbis, PhotoDisc, and Getty Images. Iridescence: Platt, Meridith E. 1996. Iridescence in Insects. Milwaukee Public Museum; Tada, Haruna et all. 1998. Effects of butterfly scale on the iridescent color observed at different angles. Applied Optics. Vol 37, # 9, March 20, 1998.; Vulinec, Kevina. 1997. Iridescent Dung Beetles: a Different Angle. Florida Entomologist. Vol. 80, No. 2: 132-138.; Wu, C. 1997. Butterfly Sparkle Characterized for Chips. Science News Online.
Colorblindness: Detail and data about cones, color matching, luminance functions, and colorblindness genes from a collaborative project of the Color and Vision Research Laboratories at the University of California San Diego and the University of Tübingen. Some background on colorblindness from "Adjusting for the Colorblind" by Ian Austen in the New York Times, November 2, 2000. Non-technical information about colorblindness and sensations from Terrace L. Waggoner, O.D., Optometrist Gulf Breeze, FL USA. Colorblindness incidence and background from Colorfield Insight technical documentation; Colorfield Insight is an Adobe Photoshop plugin for simulating colorblindness. The 31 nm difference in absorption maxima of the long- and medium-wavelength chromophores from Asenjo AB, Rim J, Oprian DD, "Molecular determinants of human red/green color discrimination," Neuron 1994 May;12(5):1131-8. How Color Vision Testing Works courtesy Hans Irtel. X-Chromosome image from human karyotype from Cecilia Wendin, Doug Chapman, David Adler, and Kris Carroll at the University of Washington pathology department.
Original text from Jurt Nassau includes thanks to many colleagues at AT&T Bell Laboratories, particularly M. E. Lines, for interactions over the years that have deepened my understanding of color. He is grateful to Ets. Ceramiques Pierre Gilson, F. Mijhout, and to R. L. Bams for diagrams; the balance of the illustrations are reproduced from K. Nassau, The Physics and Chemistry of Color, John Wiley and Sons, New York, 1983.