Posts

Showing posts from December, 2016

Imaginary Colors

Image
I was watching QI (a BBC program of semi-serious questions and semi-serious answers, QI = Quite Interesting) and one of the questions which came up a few weeks ago was about imaginary colors. They messed up the graphics quite badly like this: So colors between deep blue and purple-red are not supposed to exist. QI did not explain why. I've seen in some textbooks that these colors are described as mysterious or anomolous. In the textbooks  this diagram is used... ...which at least gives a bit more "explanation" of why they should not be visible. According to some people, since they are on that strange lower edge, and not on the "spectral edge" they are therefore non-existent colors. (I found the reasoning to have the same weight as those who say "science says bumble bees should not be able to fly, but they can, so science is wrong!" It is clear to anyone with half a brain that bumble bees are not shaped like aircraft, are lighter and les