Seeing Colour

When it comes to seeing colour, a lot goes on behind the scenes. Do our eyes do all the work, or is it our brain that actually sees?

How does colour get to our eyes?
Is the colour I see the same as the one you do?
Is our brain sometimes tricked into seeing things that aren't there?
Is it easy to describe colours in words?

Reflection and absorption

When white light hits an object, some colours are reflected and some are absorbed.

It is the reflected colours that travel to your eye and give the object its colour.

Colourful Language

Have you heard of all these colourful expressions?

RED red-rimmed paint the town red catch the red-eye special in the red red rag to a bull red-faced red-blooded youth red-raw red-hot redneck seeing red red light district

YELLOW a jaundiced view yellow bellied a yellow coward mellow yellow yellow peril

GREEN Green-eyed monster greenhorn green with envy green thumb feeling a bit green around the gills grass is always greener

BLUE feeling blue blue in the face blue-blooded blue with cold blue movies blue sky research blue stocking once in a blue moon

Curious combinations

Some curious things happen when the brain becomes confused by the information it receives from the eyes.

Compare the colours in the two small circles. Are they the same or different?

Copyright © Australian Museum 1999, 2002