The Mystery of Red & Green Light Combinations

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around the phenomenon of mixing red and green light and the resulting perception of yellow light. It explores the differences between physical light wavelengths and human color perception, touching on concepts from optics and visual science.

Discussion Character

  • Conceptual clarification, Technical explanation

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants propose that red light mixed with green light produces yellow light due to the way the human visual system interprets color.
  • Others argue that the mixture does not contain yellow wavelengths, despite appearing yellow to observers.
  • A later reply emphasizes that a spectrographic analysis would reveal the presence of red and green light, with no actual yellow light produced, highlighting the distinction between perception and reality.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree on the distinction between perceived color and actual wavelengths present in the light mixture, but the nuances of how this perception occurs remain a point of exploration.

Contextual Notes

The discussion does not resolve the underlying mechanisms of color perception or the implications of mixing light, leaving some assumptions and definitions unaddressed.

snoopies622
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Red light mixed with green light produces yellow light. Yet, a red photon and a green photon don't combine to make a yellow photon (or two of them). Can someone explain this?
 
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Mixing light of red and green wavelengths produces something that appears yellow because of how the human visual system works.

But, that mixture does not actually have light of yellow wavelengths, even though these two cases appear (to us) to have the same color.
 
Redbelly eloquently explains it. If you did a spectrographic analysis (or simply passed it though a prism) you would see that the red and green light is still there, and that there is, in fact, no yellow light at all, except in our minds.
 
Hey, thanks!
 

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