Green chlorophyll and the blue ocean. Any relationship?
Yellow-bellied dolphins and pink flamingoes. Any relationship?
Well, it is all related to light, to wavelengths. Today I picked up an article about photosynthesis and a few physic concepts came back to my mind.
The colors we see are the ones the object does not absorb. In other words, we could say a thing has all the colors but not the one our eyes detect. All molecules absorb electromagnetic radiation of various wavelengths, with the specific wavelengths absorbed being characteristic of the particular molecule. The chlorophyll is a pigment because it absorbs electromagnetic radiation of the wavelength within the visible region. It reflects the green, so vegetation seems that color, but it isn't.
The ocean is blue, because blue is the only color it does not have! Sounds confusing, but I find it extremely amusing and even funny.
Today my retina was concentrated on colors. Yellow-bellied common dolphins, blue seas, green leaves of red mangroves, black lava flows on young islands, and an orange sunset.
Visible light is a marvelous thing! What would happen if one could also perceive the infrared or the ultraviolet? We could see through rocks and organisms, we could tell one element apart from the other by their reflected wavelengths. The world too, would be revealed to the eyes, and mystery might loose its power. Magic would diffuse.
I'd far rather stick with just visible light. The planet is already wonderful from violet to red; it does not need more detail.
