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How many colours is light made up of? Should it be infinite because of colours like light-blue , fluoroscent-blue , cyan ,dark green , sap green , etc.?

Qmechanic
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user336972
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  • Possible duplicates: https://physics.stackexchange.com/q/169209/2451 , https://physics.stackexchange.com/q/640381/2451 and links therein. – Qmechanic Oct 08 '22 at 06:59
  • As many as your eye can see. Depends on whose eye is looking. A mantis shrimp can see more colors than humans. The property of color depends on the observer, it's not the intrinsic property of light itself. It's the property of the biological machinery we have, namely the eye. –  Oct 08 '22 at 07:25
  • @Qmechanic I think this is not a duplicate, it is asking about colors not wavekengths, which I am trying to clarify in my answor, that there is no one to one correspondance of color to wavelength, except in the frequency spectrum, not in the definition of color. If you look at my answer you will see that the spectral colors do not include the white color for example. – anna v Oct 08 '22 at 08:26
  • @annav I agree. Wavelength is an objective property of a wave. Colour, on the other hand, is a subjective perceptual construct which exists only within the mind. Colour perception varies enormously from one species to another, and indeed varies from one person to another. I have voted to reopen. – gandalf61 Oct 08 '22 at 11:02

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The word "color" for light is multi-valued because , one value is the physics behind it, the other is interactions of light with the biochemistry of the eye and the brain.

As far as the spectral colors part of which is visible light with its colors, One could say "infinite" as both the extent and the density of frequencies of the spectrum cannot be counted. The word "color" applied to the visible frequencies as seen here:

EMsptcr

See the whole table here. The values of frequency sis shown continuous in the colored section , and the same for the whole range

BUT there exists "perception of color" where different spectral color frequencies added and hitting the retina and translated in the eye as color, the same as the eye translates the spectral color, show that what we call "color" can depend on many frequencies.

perceived color

One can have as fine a distinction of perceived color as the eye/brain function can decide.

anna v
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    And the Land Effect (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_constancy#Retinex_theory) demonstrates that human color perception is more complex than the CIE model used in the diagram. – John Doty Oct 08 '22 at 12:00
  • And impossible colors add to the complexity aspect. – Ed V Oct 08 '22 at 12:06
  • @JohnDoty thanks for reminding me of it . https://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/15841/can-someone-explain-the-color-pink-to-me/15866#15866 – anna v Oct 08 '22 at 13:05