The Science Behind Colours

Siblings, Farhan and Raisa, were very affectionate, but they fought sometimes, especially when it came to colourful things like schoolbags, balloons, and even while playing Carrom or Ludo.

- Vijay Ghanshyamdas Khatri

Today, they fought again. Grandma had grown different types of flowers in the garden. Both wanted the red rose.

When Farhan ran away after snatching the rose, Raisa complained to their Father, "Farhan fights with me every day.

Yesterday, he wouldn't give me the yellow balloon, and today he won't give me my favourite, the red rose."

Farhan was standing behind them and smiling. Papa laughed and said, "If I say that a red rose is not red and a yellow balloon is not yellow, would you believe that?"

Farhan said, "To end our fight, you have resorted to science again! Here, take this, Raisa and keep the red rose, so Papa will reveal the secret of colours straight away."

Raisa, held the rose proudly and asked, "How is it possible there is no red colour in a red rose?"

Papa took the prism out from the cupboard. Then he reflected rays of light from one side of the prism and circulated it through the other side onto the white paper, and a rainbow-like spectrum of seven colours emerged. Both Farhan and Raisa watched with surprise.

Papa said, "Did you see that light is made of seven colours-violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange and red?"

Upon hearing this, Raisa said, "This is a fascinating thing to know."

Papa laughed and said, "When rays of light fall on a rose, all the other colours except for red are absorbed by it, and only red is reflected by it, and that's why the rose appears red."

Farhan thought for a moment and asked, "Does this mean no object has its own colour? And it appears to be the colour it reflects?"

Raisa interrupted, "What happens if an object absorbs all the colours and reflects none? What does it look like then?"

"An object that absorbs all the colours and reflects none appears black."

Farhan asked, "And what if an object reflects all the colours and absorbs none?"

"That object will appear white. Do you understand?" Papa asked.