Colour

Hazel Rossotti explains the physical and biological mechanisms that produce the human experience of color. She begins with the physics of light waves and atomic energy levels, detailing how substances like chlorophyll and inorganic minerals absorb or reflect specific wavelengths. The text describes how the human eye and brain process these signals through retinal cones and neural pathways. Rossotti further applies these principles to various technologies, including the chemical composition of ceramic glazes, the phosphors used in television screens, and the synthesis of industrial dyes.

This book serves students and practitioners in both the sciences and the arts who require a technical understanding of optics and perception. Readers learn how light refraction creates rainbows and how structural anatomy enables camouflage and signaling in the natural world. Artists and designers gain a functional vocabulary for understanding color blindness, the symbolic use of pigments across different cultures, and how physical surroundings alter the psychological mood of a space. The reader acquires a clear framework for connecting the chemistry of matter to the visual aesthetics of the environment.

Outward-looking and clear-cut; a moderate read.

Best for readers like The Evidence Seeker. Which reader are you?