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FizixFreak
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why is the light from the sun called white light?
FizixFreak said:but the sun glows on orange colour does not that mean that it is emitting light of orange colour
Beto Pimentel said:Yes, and that can mean that (1) the receptors in your eyes respond more intensely to yellow/orange light than to other colours; (2) the Sun indeed emits MORE yellow/orange light than others; (3) or both.
There are many other things to take into account if you want a more thorough understanding of that, as for instance the scattering of higher frequency light (sp. violet and blue) by the N2 and other molecules of the atmosphere (which gives us the blue of the day sky, incidentally), or the combined effect of the three different kinds of photochemical receptors in the retina.
The color that you see when you look at the sun is actually closer to yellow than to orange. That is because the shorter wavelength blue light is scattered by the atmosphere to a much greater degree than the other wavelengths. This is what makes the sky blue. The sun then appears yellow because white - blue = yellow.FizixFreak said:but the sun glows on orange colour does not that mean that it is emitting light of orange colour
FizixFreak said:mmmmmmmmmmmmm this might sound stupid but is the light from the sun litarally white?
Stonebridge said:Just to clear things up a little: The sun is still a "yellow" class star, even before the scattering of its light in the atmosphere makes it appear even yellower than it otherwise would be.
Aaaagh! (My mind recoils in horror as it accidentally recalls endless rings of swatches)sophiecentaur said:Anybody who has tried to match up the 'white' paint on a car will know that there are a whole lot of 'colours' that could be called white.
White light from the sun is a mixture of all the visible colors of light, including red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. It appears white to our eyes because our brains combine all these colors together.
Although white light from the sun contains all visible colors, our atmosphere filters out some of the shorter wavelengths of light, such as blue and violet. This leaves mostly yellow and red light to reach our eyes, making the sun appear yellow.
White light from the sun travels in the form of electromagnetic waves. These waves do not require a medium to travel through, so they can reach Earth through the vacuum of space.
Yes, white light can be separated into its component colors through a process called refraction. This can be done with a prism or a water droplet, which causes the different colors to bend at different angles and become visible to our eyes.
White light from the sun is crucial for life on Earth as it provides the energy needed for photosynthesis, which is the process by which plants convert sunlight into food. It also helps regulate our circadian rhythms and provides the necessary light for our vision.