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WAVELENGTHS IN NANOMETERS 400 450 500 550 600 650 700 | | | | | | |
Violet Blue Green Yellow Orange Red 400-450 450-500 500-570 570-590 590-610 610-700 Light waves are very small, and are measured in Nanometers. Each color vibrates at a specific wavelength, and are often mixed together to provide us with extra colors that do not appear in the "rainbow". Opaque materials that do not transmit light reflect light from their surfaces. The color of the object is reflected off the surface of the material, and all extra colors that are illuminating it are absorbed into the surface. Colors of this nature can be matched by using color chips from a paint store. Transparent materials reflect, absorb, and transmit light in a different manner. Every piece of transparent glass is a light filter, absorbing some colors and transmitting the remaining colors, often combined together in the glass to form a compound color. This is the case with purple glass. Purple does not exist as a natural light source, but is a mixture of red and blue from opposite ends of the spectrum. Different chemicals in glass produce different optical qualities. Most window glass transmits only 90% of the light entering it, with 10% reflected off and minor components of ultra-violet absorbed into the glass. Colored glass is more complex, as metal oxides and impurities in the glass during manufacture produce many different optical qualities that affect the wavelengths of colored light that are absorbed, reflected, refracted, and transmitted from the glass.
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