IMAGE. A color wheel.
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White light is composed of all colors of visible light. When
a species absorbs portions of white light, the species has color.
The color a species is absorbing can often be predicted. All
components of white light that a species does not absorb are transmitted,
and a color wheel can be used to predict the appearance of the
species.
For example, if a species only absorbs light from 650 nm to
700 nm (red light), all other wavelengths will be transmitted. The
species will appear green, since green is the complementary color to
red and is across from red on the color wheel. (Note: A species may
absorb more than one color, and predicting its appearance becomes more
difficult.)
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