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Computer Grapics Chapter 3 Note 1

The document discusses properties of light including speed, wavelength, frequency and the electromagnetic spectrum. It describes color models like RGB, CMYK and HSL and how they represent and create different colors using combinations of primary colors. The document also discusses principles of color selection and application for displays.

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Ermias
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32 views6 pages

Computer Grapics Chapter 3 Note 1

The document discusses properties of light including speed, wavelength, frequency and the electromagnetic spectrum. It describes color models like RGB, CMYK and HSL and how they represent and create different colors using combinations of primary colors. The document also discusses principles of color selection and application for displays.

Uploaded by

Ermias
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Color Models and Color Application

Chapter 3

Properties of Light

Introduction
Light is all around us. It not only lets us see in the dark, but the properties of light are
important to many aspects of our lives. Reflections in rear-view mirrors of cars help to
keep us safe. Refraction through lenses of eyeglasses or contact lens’ helps some people
see better. More generally, electromagnetic waves (of which visible light is one
example) are transmitted as a signal that our radios pick up so we can listen to music.
Pulses of infrared light are transmitted as signals so we can communicate with our TVs.
This backgrounder is all about visible light and how we interact with it.

Light and its Properties


In a vacuum (a container with no air), light travels at the speed of approximately 299
792 458 metres per second (m/s). This is known as the speed of light. It is the fastest
that anything in the universe is able to move! For comparison, the speed of sound is
only approximately 300 m/s. This is why during a storm you always see lightning before
hearing thunder.

An important thing to know about light is that it travels in a straight line through a
material.

Waves and the Spectrum of Light


Light has the properties of waves. Like ocean waves, light waves have crests and
troughs. The distance between one crest and the next, which is the same as the distance
between one trough and the next, is called the wavelength. The frequency of a wave is
the number of crests (or troughs) that pass a point in one second. The wavelength
multiplied by the frequency equals the speed at which the wave travels.
The colours of visible light are red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. These
different colours of light have different wavelengths and frequencies. Red light has the
longest wavelength, and the lowest frequency of the visible spectrum. Violet has the
shortest wavelength, and the highest frequency of the visible spectrum. Look at the two
waves in the picture below. You can imagine how, if they were both moving to the right
at the same speed, the number of violet crests passing the edge of the box in one
second would be higher than the number of red crests.

There is also light that is not visible to humans. Ultraviolet light and x-rays are also
light, but have too small a wavelength and too high a frequency to be visible to
us. Infrared light which can be detected by night-vision goggles, and radio waves,
which are picked up by your radio so you can hear music, have wavelengths which are
too long and frequencies which are too low to be seen by the human eye.

Primary Colours of Light


You will remember from art class that the primary colours are red, yellow and blue.
These can mix to form the secondary colours orange, green and purple. Light has
primary colours as well. But these are different colours than the colours we use in paint
and markers. The primary colours of light are red, green, and blue. The secondary
colours of light are cyan (made by combining blue and green), magenta (made by
combining blue and red) and yellow (made by combining green and red). Computer
screens use various amounts of red, blue, and green light to make all the colours that
you see. When the primary colours of light are combined, they make white light (see
below).

Properties of light
Following are the properties of light:

 Reflection of light: Every light follows the law of reflection which states that the
angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection.
 Refraction of light: Refraction of light takes place when the light ray changes its
velocity it passes from one medium to another. Index of refraction is used as a
means to measure how much light refracts.
 Dispersion: Dispersion of light is defined as the process in which the white light
separates into different colours based on its wavelength when passed through a
glass prism.
 Diffraction: The effect of bending light around small obstacle corners and hence
its encroachment into the geometric shadow region is called diffraction.
 Polarization of light: Normal light vibrates in all directions perpendicular to the
propagation of light. If the light is constrained to vibrate in only one particular
plane, then the light is called polarized light.
 Interference of light: Interference is the phenomenon of modification in the
intensity of light due to the redistribution of light energy in the region of
superposition of two or more light waves.

What Is a Color Model?


A color model is a system that uses three primary colors to create a larger range of
colors. There are different kinds of color models used for different purposes, and each
has a slightly different range of colors they can produce. The whole range of colors that
a specific type of color model produces is called a color space. All color results from how
our eye processes light waves, but depending on the type of media, creating that color
comes from different methods.

Introduction to Color Spaces


Color spaces are the mathematical representation of a set of colors. There are many
color models. Some of them are RGB, CMYK, YIQ, HSV, and HLS, etc. These color spaces
are directly related to saturation and brightness. All of these color spaces can be derived
using RGB information using devices such as cameras and scanners.

Types of Color Models

RGB Eg. Monitors

YIQ Eg. T.V

CMY Eg. Printers & Plotters

HSV Eg. Color palette

RGB Color Space


RGB stands for Red, Green, and Blue. This color space is widely used in computer
graphics. RGB are the main colors from which many colors can be made. RGB is called
an additive color model because when the three colors of light are shown in the same
intensity at the same time, they produce white. If all the lights are out, they create black.

RGB can be represented in the 3-dimensional form:


HSV Color Model
HSV stands for Hue, Saturation, and Value (brightness). It is a hexcone subset of the
cylindrical coordinate system. The human eye can see 128 different hues, 130 different
saturations and number values between 16 (blue) and 23 (yellow).

HLS Color Model


HLS stands for Hue Light Saturation. It is a double hexcone subset. The maximum
saturation of hue is S= 1 and L= 0.5. It is conceptually easy for people who want to view
white as a point.
Color Selection and Application
Graphical package provide color capabilities in a way that aid users in making color
selections For example, contain sliders and color wheels for RGB components instead of
numerical values

Color applications guidelines displaying blue pattern next to a red pattern cause eye
fatigue .Prevent by separating these color or by using colors from one half or less of the
color hexagon in the HSV model. Smaller number of colors produces a better looking
display. Tints and shades tend to blend better than pure hues. Gray or complement of
one of the foreground color is usually best for background

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