Red apples, blue skies, green grass… 🌈
Have you ever wondered how your eyes know that a strawberry is red and the sea is blue?
It is a teamwork story between light, objects, and your amazing eyes and brain.
Tap Next to begin the adventure ✨
In a totally dark room, you cannot see any colour. Why? Because seeing needs light.
Light shines from the Sun or a lamp, bounces off an object, and travels into your eyes.
Sunlight looks plain white, but it is really all the rainbow colours mixed together!
A glass prism (or a raindrop) can split white light apart so we can see them.
When white light hits a red apple, the apple soaks up (absorbs) most colours… but it bounces back the red. That red light reaches your eyes, so the apple looks red! 🍎
Quick think: Grass looks green. Which colour does grass bounce back to your eyes?
At the back of your eye is a screen called the retina. It is covered with millions of tiny light-catchers. Tap each one to learn its job!
Your cones come in three kinds: one loves red light, one loves green light, one loves blue light. By mixing how much each one is tickled, you can see every colour!
🎯 Challenge: make YELLOW
At night there is very little light, so your colourful cones can't work well. Only your rods stay awake — and they see in grey.
🌟 Try it tonight: look at a colourful toy in a dim room. The colours look washed out — your rods are doing the seeing!
Here's what your eyes taught you:
Well done, explorer! 🎉 Next time you see a rainbow, you'll know the secret. 🌈