04-12-2002, 05:14 PM
::puts on Mr. Peabody hat::
OK, the light that we see has it characteristic color and brightness for a reason. Ty to follow me here, I'll try not to go too fast
OK, all atoms have electrons. They are these little tiny charged particles that whiz around the nucleus of every atom. One thing about all electrons, they have an "energy state". Think of it kind of like the amount of gas that is in the electrons fuel tank. All electrons in an atom have some amount of the energy, and this energy level determines what orbital the electron is in. An orbital is strange concept...I can explain it further if you want, but it might jsut confuse you now...but think of the orbital as a circular orbit (which it really is not) around the nucleus, just like the orbit of the Earth around the Sun.
If an electron has more energy, it moves into a higher energy level, it moves into a higher energy orbital. This would be like the Earth jumping from it's orbit now to one in a different place that is for higher energy planets.
Still with me?
OK, so what happens when light hits something? The answer is it smacks right into an electron. A tiny photon (the little packets of energy that light is made of) is actually absorbed by the electron. One thing that is important to realize is that light is made of tiny packets of energy, not like a continuous stream, but lots and lots of discrete little packages of energy that all come so fast that it LOOKS like there are continuous...but I digress
So, the electron absorbs this photon...what happens to the electron? It "gains" the energy that the photon had since no energy can be created or destroyed. So, what happens when an electron has more energy, it jumps to a higher energy level.
The problem is, electrons don't like being in places they shouldn't...they REALLY don't like it. So, as soon as the elctron jumps up there, it gets all uppity and wants to move back done to it's old home...but it can't, it has too much energy. It has to get rid of that energy somehow. What does it do, it releases that energy in the form of a photon. Yup, the electron emits it's own little packet of energy so it can move to a more comfortable place.
IMPORTANT THING: The color of a photon is determined by its frequency.
The trick of it is, it doesn't always release a photon of the same frequency. It might release two photons that have the same energy as the one that hit it. Sometimes it absorbs some energy and turns it into kinetic energy (speed or heat). So, you can get an electron that releases light of a different color than what hit it. The frequencies of the light released by electrons vary from one type of atom to the next, so different types of material may emit different kinds of light.
That is how an apple emits red light and an eggplant emits purple light when you shine a "white" light on both.
So, the colors that you see are frequencies of the light that the electrons on the atoms that are on the surface of the thing you are looking at.
If you want me to explain how your eyes "sees" color, give me some time, carpal tunnel is killing me now :crackhead:
OK, the light that we see has it characteristic color and brightness for a reason. Ty to follow me here, I'll try not to go too fast
OK, all atoms have electrons. They are these little tiny charged particles that whiz around the nucleus of every atom. One thing about all electrons, they have an "energy state". Think of it kind of like the amount of gas that is in the electrons fuel tank. All electrons in an atom have some amount of the energy, and this energy level determines what orbital the electron is in. An orbital is strange concept...I can explain it further if you want, but it might jsut confuse you now...but think of the orbital as a circular orbit (which it really is not) around the nucleus, just like the orbit of the Earth around the Sun.
If an electron has more energy, it moves into a higher energy level, it moves into a higher energy orbital. This would be like the Earth jumping from it's orbit now to one in a different place that is for higher energy planets.
Still with me?
OK, so what happens when light hits something? The answer is it smacks right into an electron. A tiny photon (the little packets of energy that light is made of) is actually absorbed by the electron. One thing that is important to realize is that light is made of tiny packets of energy, not like a continuous stream, but lots and lots of discrete little packages of energy that all come so fast that it LOOKS like there are continuous...but I digress
So, the electron absorbs this photon...what happens to the electron? It "gains" the energy that the photon had since no energy can be created or destroyed. So, what happens when an electron has more energy, it jumps to a higher energy level.
The problem is, electrons don't like being in places they shouldn't...they REALLY don't like it. So, as soon as the elctron jumps up there, it gets all uppity and wants to move back done to it's old home...but it can't, it has too much energy. It has to get rid of that energy somehow. What does it do, it releases that energy in the form of a photon. Yup, the electron emits it's own little packet of energy so it can move to a more comfortable place.
IMPORTANT THING: The color of a photon is determined by its frequency.
The trick of it is, it doesn't always release a photon of the same frequency. It might release two photons that have the same energy as the one that hit it. Sometimes it absorbs some energy and turns it into kinetic energy (speed or heat). So, you can get an electron that releases light of a different color than what hit it. The frequencies of the light released by electrons vary from one type of atom to the next, so different types of material may emit different kinds of light.
That is how an apple emits red light and an eggplant emits purple light when you shine a "white" light on both.
So, the colors that you see are frequencies of the light that the electrons on the atoms that are on the surface of the thing you are looking at.
If you want me to explain how your eyes "sees" color, give me some time, carpal tunnel is killing me now :crackhead:
<div align="center">![[Image: post-13-23459-Earl2.jpg]](http://www.cdih.net/non-cgi/uploads/post-13-23459-Earl2.jpg)
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Your pocket Bible will stop an assailant's bullet, but not before it passes through four innocent bystanders, a school-bus gas tank, and your genitals.
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Your pocket Bible will stop an assailant's bullet, but not before it passes through four innocent bystanders, a school-bus gas tank, and your genitals.