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Purple is a non-spectral color, meaning it does not correspond to a single wavelength of light, unlike most other colors we see Instead, our brains interpret purple by observing a unique mixture of solid red and solid blue light without any green to counterbalance the colors,
The perception of the color purple is a fascinating demonstration of how our brains process and make sense of the world around us The human eye contains three types of color receptors, or cones, that are sensitive to different wavelengths of light: short (blue), medium (green), and long (red) When we perceive purple, it’s because our eyes are receiving strong signals from both the red and blue cones, but not the green ones.
This is a phenomenon known as color mixing, where the brain combines the signals it receives from these different cones to create the full spectrum of colors we see.
In the case of purple, the absence of a strong signal from the green cones tells our brain that we’re seeing a color that is a mix of red and blue This is why purple is considered a non-spectral color; it’s not represented by a single wavelength of light, but rather a combination of wavelengths that our brain perceives as a distinct color.
This is so cool!
KC
