What colour is an orange in the dark

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“ Originally Posted by Oli
So if there were to be no light there wouldn't be any colour?
So orange isn't actually a property of the orange, it's only orange because light "says" it is? ”

I would go further and say it's only orange because it appears that way to us.
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Either way it's orange.
 
EndLightEnd said:
"Orange" is just a reference to a specific wavelength of light we perceive as the color orange. The spectrum of light hitting the object does not change this specific wavelength reference in any way.

If we are assuming it is completely dark and there is no light, then there can be no color. Color cannot exist without light transmitting that information. Hence my "pitch in a vacuum" analogy, if there are no sound waves there is no pitch.
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Of course there is, in the strings of the violin.
 
Enmos said:
Color is a property of the orange, yes ?
Then it's still orange in the dark. We just can't perceive it.

The chemical composition of the outer margins of the orange reflects light predominantly of wavelengths that we perceive as 'orange'.
The chemical composition is still there in the dark, only very few photons reflect off it.
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I agree completely. Our inability to perceive something doesn't alter reality. You want to know what color the orange is in the dark? Bring a flashlight.
 
isnt an orange actually the inverse of that colour on the spectrum?? Due to the other colours being absorbed and orange being the only one bouncing back??
 
Oli said:
So if there were to be no light there wouldn't be any colour?
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Yes, unless there is an alternate way of perceiving colors other then light.

Oli said:
So orange isn't actually a property of the orange, it's only orange because light "says" it is?
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Orange is a reference to a specific wavelength band of light. Orange is a property of orange (god couldnt we have done yellow/banana? lol). My point is that without light reflecting off the orange at specific wavelengths, no color exists. The information of "orange" is carried in light. No light = no information = no color. The property of orange remains unchanged there is just no light.
 
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Orange color requires certain properties of the object, the type(s) of light which carries that color, eyes that receive that light & a brain to interpret it & produce the image.
Dark is the absence of light. No light = no color. No light receptor = no color. No brain = no color. Different enough properties of the object = different color. Different type of light = different color. Different eyes = different color. Different brain = different color.
Color is 1 aspect of the brain's interpretation of the signals the eyes receive. The signals are light reflected from the object & are such as they are due to the properties of the light & the properties of the object.
The OP presupposes the orange is there. The orange can be touched, held, squeezed, rolled about, tossed into the air & caught in the dark. There may be sound as it is squeezed or rolled & will be sound as it is caught. It can be smelled & tasted. And eaten.
There is a difference between this & the tree falling in the forest. Color requires an observer. Sound does not.
Technically, it is correct that the orange is not orange colored. It is the color(s) of the light it absorbs. If it were a simple matter of an object absorbing blue light & reflecting orange & another object absorbing red light & reflecting green & if we could know this of each object we see, I'd probably persist in calling the former blue & the latter red. As things are tho, it is much too impractical thus we refer to the reflected color.
 
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EndLightEnd said:
Yes, unless there is an alternate way of perceiving colors other then light.

Orange is a reference to a specific wavelength band of light. Orange is a property of orange (god couldnt we have done yellow/banana? lol). My point is that without light reflecting off the orange at specific wavelengths, no color exists. The information of "orange" is carried in light. No light = no information = no color. The property of orange remains unchanged there is just no light.
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Is it possible that you are speaking of color-perception instead of color ?
 
The colour we perceive as the colour of an object is the reflected light which is not absorbed as energy by the object.
Thus, when white light hits a leaf, the light which is not used by the leaf in photosynthesis is reflected. This appears to us as the colour green.

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If you lit a plant with green light, it would barely keep alive.
 
Captain Kremmen said:
The colour we perceive as the colour of an object is the reflected light which is not absorbed as energy by the object.
Thus, when white light hits a leaf, the light which is not used by the leaf in photosynthesis is reflected. This appears to us as the colour green.

If you lit a plant with green light, it would barely keep alive.
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And ?
What causes only the green light to reflect ?
 
Captain Kremmen said:
True.
In the case of a plant, the organelles which change non green light into useable energy.

Enmos, you need to rethink this.
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I don't think so Captain :p

What is your definition of 'color' ? In your own words please (no dictionary definitions).
 
EntropyAlwaysWins said:
The wavelength of light you receive depends on the object and the light that hits it.
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The objects ability to reflect certain wavelengths doesn't change with the different colors of light that shine on it.
In other words, it's characteristics don't change. Not when you shine a different color light on it and not if some other animal looks at it either.
The characteristics of the object determine its color.
 
Enmos said:
The objects ability to reflect certain wavelengths doesn't change with the different colors of light that shine on it.
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Yes, however, it isn't strictly correct to say the object *is* orange because if no light of that wavelength hits the object then none will reflect off it.
 
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