color

Color, The Wave Theory Of Matter And Particle Spin

By: John K. Harms

Abstract:

This is a model of color based upon the proposition that matter is structurally wavelike, which indeed it is. This color model is an intellectual exercise, with two central predictions. It is assumed that radiation always interferes destructively with embedded matter waves of the same wavelength. It is proposed as an axiom that where incident radiation is of the same frequency as the matter wave, they cancel each other. This is a general principle. Moreover, it is assumed that such longer wavelengths in matter waves do exist. It might also be seen that matter is composed of photon holes and that photons of identical energy simply fall into the holes that compose matter. Hence, the photon wavelengths that are not dampened by an interaction with matter waves, we experience as color. The key to color is viewed as the electron wave interacting with waves of radiation. Blackness is viewed as those radiation frequencies that are never canceled by matter. The author's ideas about gravity elaborated in his other text are also available on this Website. This concept can also be pictured in the context of particle spin. Color, in this idea, can be seen as canceling when the photon and matter spin in opposite directions i.e., right-handed Vs. left-handed spin. This may explain the behavior of the photoreceptors in darkness. Gravity can also envisioned in the context of matter waves and particle spin; this concept is consistent with this color exercise. It is also found that particle decay is explained by this model. Thus, the author's ideas about color, gravity and particle decay all have similar explanations. The particle decay model is described in its own text also available on this Website.

Key Words: Color, Matter Waves, Particle Spin, Polarization, Quantum Waves, Constructive Interference, Destructive Interference, Blackness, Gravity, Particle Decay

Introduction

The conventional explanation of color put forward is usually particle-based. The atoms that reflect or absorb the various visible wavelengths are thought of as particles i.e., protons, neutrons and electrons (or quarks). An equally valid point of view is that matter has a wavelike structure or that it is particle spin (polarization) that causes the experience we call color. Both of these viewpoints are discussed within this text.

Strictly speaking, color is not in the emitting substances or even in the light they emit. Color is a physiological experience and is in the eye of the beholder. The light we see, however, does depend upon the frequency of the emitted light (Hewitt, 1981).

Color, as the frequencies of emitted light interacting with matter waves or particle spin, are a seldom discussed views. Therefore, these viewpoint are the primary focus of this text.

Matter As Waves

Quantum mechanics tells us that matter and energy are both particles and waves simultaneously. Louis De Broglie was the scientist who first pointed out the wave nature of matter. Moreover, the two-slit experiment demonstrated that in much the way same as visible light, electrons were found to be influenced by a wave showing interference patterns. In the first successful atomic model, Bohr's electron energy levels (which at first appeared very arbitrary) could be better understood if the electron was considered a "wave" orbiting the nucleus. Thus, as De Broglie reminded the physicists of his day, matter is structurally wavelike. The location of particles within the matter wave is found usually near the centers of the wave.

S. W. Hawking says that "maybe there are no particle positions and velocities, but only waves." (Hawking, 1996). The outlook adopted here is that matter is wavelike, and that material objects consist of a mishmash of various wavelengths i.e., matter waves. Such quantum matter waves are usually known to be very high in frequency, thus, are vastly higher than visible wavelengths. However, it is assumed here that embedded within the high frequencies are the lower frequencies, roughly equal to the visible wavelengths.

What we experience as color is a result of the interaction of matter waves with electromagnetic waves, to either ignore the incident radiation, reinforce it constructively or reinforce it destructively. In the case of the visible colors that we observe, it is the matter waves interacting strictly with wavelengths of visible light.

Matter, Light And Destructive Interference

In the wave section, there is an underlying assumption in this model of color and it is a basic axiom. This axiom is fundamental to understanding the perspective presented here.

Matter And Electromagnetic Wave Axiom: Matter and radiation of the same wavelengths must always interfere destructively with each other i.e., cancel each other.

This takes place rather easily by assuming that radiation waves and matter waves are exactly out-of-phase with each other. Hence, when the frequencies are identical, matter waves and EM waves always interact by interfering destructively with each other. Matter and radiation waves, thus, are opposites--they cancel (or dampen) each other when they interact.

Moreover, this can be viewed as matter being composed of photon holes and incoming opposite photons simply falling-into its identical (and opposite) hole for cancellation. The idea that matter is a photon hole simplifies much and is explored in the "Matter As Photon Holes" text at the link below.

When light interacts with a wall, visible incident light cancels by interfering destructively the components of identical wavelengths in the matter making up the wall. What appears as color to us is what wavelengths remain after dampening of the incoming waves (or photons of radiation falling into photon holes).

Hence, if a wall appears white, the material waves that make up the wall must oscillate at frequencies that are not canceled (or dampened) by the wavelengths of the incident visible radiation. Therefore, a white wall ignores and cancels none of the incident radiation scattering all the incoming visible waves. Or stated differently, the materials that compose a white object naturally oscillate only at a higher (or lower) frequency than the incident visible radiation. Since incoming radiation is not of those natural frequencies of the matter wave, none is canceled out. Thus, all the visible wavelengths are scattered yielding the color white to the retina. White substances may vary widely in composition, but all white substances must have the common characteristic of revealing a white surface when hit with a white light.

The material waves in a black object always destructively cancel all visible incoming radiation, hence, only blackness radiation which is never dampened by matter is emitted. Or stated differently, incoming radiation is of the same frequencies as the matter wave (they both match), therefore, all visible wavelengths are canceled by the matter wave. A green (or any other colored) object cancels all wavelengths except green frequencies. Thus, green is ignored. Blackness accompanies all visible colors as it is never dampened by a matter wave.

To appear as a particular visible spectral color, a quantity of matter must contain a wave component in the visible range that cannot be canceled by that color of incident radiation. Again, there may be many different substances that produce a similar color.

Black objects cancel (by destructive interference) all incoming wavelengths revealing that which is never absent; blackness radiation.

To comply with the first law of thermodynamics (energy conservation), all the incoming energy cannot disappear completely but must be transformed into heat waves i.e., infrared radiation. Thus, black objects are usually hotter than white ones in bright Sunlight. Since the blackness radiation is never canceled by any quantity of matter, no matter wave can oscillate in a way to destructively interfere with the wavelengths of blackness. This blackness outlook is described in detail by the author's other works available in the Website index or directly linked at the end of this text.

Incoming radiation does not so much as set a quantity of matter into resonance, as cancel the visible colors (contained in the visible light) not needed. Thus, visible colors are reflected because they are what remains. Matter waves that appear as a certain color have the property that they dampen all the wavelengths except the one perceived. This is not constructive interference, only the reflection of remaining wavelengths. Reflection takes place if the displacement of the object's matter wave is zero (Wolff, 1990).

Electron's resonate at very short-wavelengths, which is why they are used in microscopes. A single electron by itself is seen as invisible to us because it has no effect upon incident radiation. The waves composing an electron vibrates too quickly and are not matched by the incoming visible light, hence, no wavelengths are canceled. However, on the surface of some metal objects, mobile electrons can scatter incident light yielding a metallic appearance.

The frequency of matter waves is too fast under normal circumstances to interact with light waves. It is assumed by this model that there exists embedded longer-wavelength components within the matter wave (or electron wave) itself. Such longer-wavelengths are difficult to detect and always accompany the higher frequencies. Moreover, this is a prediction of the model that matter waves contain identical longer "visible light" frequencies mixed-in with the mishmash of matter waves. Indeed, this is very common in nature to other types of waves such as ocean waves. Matter waves that do not contain such visible light frequencies appear as colored to us.

Matter waves that cannot be canceled are not only colors but are the stable wavelengths of protons, electrons and their associated antiparticles. This consequence is explored briefly near the end of this text, and in more detail in the author's other text on particle decay.

The Key To Color--Electron Waves

The key to color emission is the electron. As De Broglie showed, the "orbits" of electrons can be explained if the electron is pictured as a wave. In this model, the incoming waves of visible radiation must dampen all the incoming visible radiation waves except the one perceived. Hence, a blue object cancels all electron energy levels (dampening them), except the energy level(s) responsible for the emission of blue photons.

What we experience as color is the suppression and dampening of all incident waves, by identical electron waves surrounding the atom, except the waves perceived. Each element has its own characteristic spectrum (emitted or absorbed) because each element has its own configuration (and frequencies) of electron waves surrounding it.

Incident white light dampens none of the energy levels (or orbits) of a white object's electrons, thus, the light emitted is all possible visible wavelengths (or white). In blackness perception, all incoming visible radiation is dampened by a black object, hence, we see only the background radiation i.e., blackness. See the author's work on blackness--link provided below.

Particle Spin i.e., Polarization

This picture might also be related to the spin of the electron particles. Where photon and electron particle spin are opposites, there is no perception at all. This is equivalent to cancellation of both waves as described above, except here we are speaking about particle spins. This is from a single point of reference just behind one of the wavicles. The spin of a particle is equivalent to its polarization.

In the case of a white wall (same example as above), there is no cancellation of the incoming visible photon particles with the electron particles--the spins are, therefore, all in the same direction. They do not cancel each other. When viewed in the context of polarization, as in ordinary Polaroid sunglasses, the white wall has a polarization that is equal to the incoming visible radiation. All colors are, therefore, reflected.

Where the wall appears blue (or any other visible color or colors), all the spins of the visible photons and the electrons are exactly opposite (and cancel-out) except blue photons which have a different spin and are visible. When described as a polarization (which is equivalent to spin), all incident radiation except blue is blocked because the particles composing the wall have a polarization at right angles to that of the incoming radiation.

The blue wall's particles have a polarization that lines-up, only allowing blue to be reflected. A black wall has all exactly opposite spins, hence, only the blackness background which has different photon spins (than the incoming radiation) is visible. The wall, therefore, appears black. The wall has a polarization that is all at right angles to incident visible radiation, hence, the wall appears black.

Brightness

Another relevant issue is brightness. If the incident light becomes brighter, the reflectance of the non-canceled wavelengths is also brighter. Hence, a brighter red light yields a brighter red rose.

If the incoming radiation does not contain the proper frequency to be reflected (there is an absence of incident radiation), only the color which cannot be dampened is emitted i.e., the object appears black. For example, if the incident light shining on a red apple does not contain any red wavelengths, the apple appears black and not red. Hence, the apple contains the electron energy levels for red, but no incident radiation of the proper frequencies are available. As in the case of absolute blackness, an absence is equivalent to cancellation. Therefore, the blackness background, in the wave, particle spin and polarization examples, makes the apple appear black. Indeed, in the total darkness, which is also black, an absence of incident visible radiation reveals that which can never be dampened; blackness.

In this color exercise, constructive interference is demonstrated by the so-called day-glow colors. An object painted in these colors appears similar to fluorescence in bright Sunlight (Hewitt, 1981). Thus, these colors are brighter than ordinary colors because the visible light waves from the Sun are reinforcing constructively the matter waves of the paint. This leads to the phenomena of resonance (from constructive interference) and is the primary reason why day-glow painted objects appear brighter than do ordinary colored objects. Day-glow colors appear to be the one exception in the context of colors to the axiom above, since radiation is not canceling matter waves, but reinforcing them. When pictured in the context of particle spin, this might be the same as photon and matter particles having identical spins in the same direction, a type of reinforcement.

Other exceptions to the axiom (where matter is reinforced constructively) are not related to colors. These exceptions arise in electricity, magnetism and the strong force in the author's other papers. See addresses below.

Additive And Subtractive Color Mixing

There are fundamentally two methods of mixing colors to generate all the known colors we see around us. The first is known as additive. In additive mixing, spot lights of distinct (usually the primary colors red, green and blue) colors are added together to get the desired color. White light is filtered with usually a plastic disc to obtain the proper colored light (Brandes, 1981). In the blue spot light, for example, all the wavelengths of the white light are canceled by the plastic disc except blue. Blue is "ignored" and not canceled by the mishmash of white light frequencies, thus, it is transmitted through the disc. Black accompanies all visible colors and is never canceled by any interactions with matter waves. Thus, black wavelengths are always produced by a matter wave and cannot be blocked.

In the "particle spin" picture, an apparent blue light transmitted through the disc would oscillate the electrons in the retina by having all the spins opposite to that of the cones of the retina; except blue. Blue components in the retina have a different spin and are perhaps identical to the incident radiation, thus, blue is the perceived color. This must be true for any other colored projected lights as well. White light has identical spins to that of the retinal electrons, thus, white is what is perceived. Identical spins are a type of reinforcement to the receptors. In darkness, none of the visible incoming photon spins are identical to those of the photoreceptors--no reinforcement.

If the darkness is a real entity (as is proposed in the author's other work), the radiation composing the background must not have an identical spin to that of the matter particles in the retina. Hence, if the spins are opposites i.e., the polarization is at right angles to each other--it's blackness! This model might be pictured as being consistent with the known experimental data that shows that the photoreceptors "turn-off" when shown a white light and "turn-on" in darkness. This scenario might be as follows: where there are identical spins--receptors turn-off; and if no identical spins are encountered--turn-on! See the blackness texts for further information--links provided below.

In the second color mixing scheme known as subtraction, pigmented discs are used to subtract colors from a white light. Again similar to the addition method, any color can be produced by this technique. The usual colors of the discs are cyan, magenta and yellow and these are subtracted from a white light. Properly combined all the visible wavelengths can be absorbed producing a disc that appears black (Brandes, 1981). This demonstrates that blackness accompanies the visible wavelengths and cannot be canceled during transmission through the discs.

We do not try to define what constitutes (for example) a green sensation, this is too complicated. We do not know if two people experience the same sensation as green. Moreover, we do not know what it feels like inside to see a green object. These are issues beyond the scope of this investigation. Instead, what we do here is analyze what the majority claim is a certain color and how matter and radiation interact to produce the visual reality known as the sensation of color (Feynman, 1989).

Color And Gravity

Color and gravity might appear radically different at first glance. If, as the author proposes, one pictures gravity as an absence of radiation pressure caused by a cosmic background of long-wavelength radiation, this is very similar proposal to the wavelike notion of color presented here.

Since radiation that interacts with matter of the same wavelengths in general must cancel-out because they are exactly out-of-phase with other, it can be seen how a radiation void can be produced. This might be accomplished by either the matter wave or the particle spin approach.

This void (or space-time hole) is equivalent to gravity. Hence, incoming cosmic radiation at long-wavelengths cancels the same wavelengths of matter waves and results in a radiation void at long-wavelengths. Again, for this proposal to work there must be very long-wavelengths embedded components within all matter waves. Indeed, in the particle spin method, all matter must have exactly opposite components of spin that will cancel-out by background photons.

Therefore, a disturbance of the vacuum energy is generated (a pressure) by the canceling-out of long-wavelength vacuum radiation due to the presence of matter waves of the same frequencies and spin.

It is suggested in the "decay" text that a gravitational field is what causes incident radiation to be out-of-phase with the matter it interacts with. In this case, it follows that color should also be affected. Hence, if one were to leave our region of relatively strong gravity (and curved space-time), perhaps, the colors we see would also be altered. Perhaps, what we normally experience as a certain color would only be seen as white, because there are no available out-of-phase wavelengths that can cancel-out the matter waves. This may occur in any region where space-time curvature is very slight.

Wave gravity is also discussed in the "decay" text as well as "gravity" in more detail. Links provided below.

Color, Radiation Pressure And Entropy

It is seen in the "Flames And Entropy" text (link provided below) that increasing space-time flatness is essentially increasing entropy. Hence, curved-up regions such as gravitational fields are very orderly. Photons (distortions of space-time) can be pictured, not only as carriers of energy from place to place, but also carriers of entropy. Photon emission increases the entropy of the system that emits it, because the curvature of the object doing the emitting is slightly reduced. The object's mass/energy is also reduced by a minute amount, which again reduces its curvature. Hence, flatness and entropy are increased by photon emission. The mass of the emitting body is decreased.

The photon transports entropy to the electron that eventually absorbs the photon. In the wave "color" picture as presented here, the photon may be canceled-out, which decreases the local entropy of the system by increasing its curvature. Cancellation increases curvature, because a radiation void is created at certain wavelengths by the absence of radiation. Increased curvature, therefore, is equivalent to a negative pressure, the same idea as in the gravity text and in general relativity. Thus, cancellation increases curvature and decreases entropy. The mass of the body increases; another reason that curvature slightly increases. For the system as a whole; taking both emission and cancellation into consideration, entropy always tends to increase.

The Brain And Color

It can be understood that the actual experience of color is a resonance within the brain. Color is a resonance of regions of the brain by the remaining resonance's left after cancellation. This idea was so extensive that it required an entire text devoted to the subject. See the "Brain As A Matter-Wave System" text at the link below.

Conclusion

This text is an intellectual exercise, an enjoyable alternative perspective of color and its intimate relationship with matter waves and particle spins. Visual reality is pictured here as defined by the interactions of waves of matter with waves of radiation. What we see as color is, hence, the opposite distortions of space-time interacting with each other. This might also be pictured as opposite particle spins.

If one pictures color as waves, one might also have to accept the wave interaction axiom discussed above. Perhaps, this makes this idea more difficult to accept. However, this axiom appears to hold in almost every case and works well even with gravity and particle decay (both results surprising). Therefore, the proposed axiom seems a fundamental general principle where waves of matter and radiation collide. This proposal is also logically consistent with the particle spin and polarization picture.

Two predictions can be extracted from this proposal:

1) Matter waves (such as electrons) have lower frequency embedded components equal to that of visible light. This is responsible for the various colors we perceive.

2) Matter waves have even lower frequency embedded components that are responsible for gravity (see the author's gravity text available here: http://www.johnkharms.com/gravitation.htm ).

The reader may notice that this text proposes a very different picture of blackness. The author has performed extensive research on darkness and blackness. The history of my work in this area is available at: http://www.johnkharms.com/Black.htm or a highly technical manuscript of the 1998 model at: http://www.johnkharms.com/darkness.htm . The 1999 infrared blackness model at: http://www.johnkharms.com/infrared.htm .

Electricity And Magnetism Model (And Matter Waves) at: http://www.johnkharms.com/eandm.htm

Matter As Photon Holes: http://www.johnkharms.com/matter.htm

The Brain As A Matter-Wave System: http://www.johnkharms.com/wave-brain.htm

Particle Decay Model at: http://www.johnkharms.com/decay.htm

Flames And Entropy at: http://www.johnkharms.com/flames.htm

Black Holes at: http://www.johnkharms.com/blackholes.htm

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Acknowledgment

I wish to thank Milo Wolff for his useful suggestions and analysis, and Terry James Boling for sharing his ideas about particle spin.

References

Brandes, K., 1981, Color, Time-Life Books Inc., P. 14

Feynman, R., 1989, The Feynman Lectures On Physics, Vol. I, Addison-Wesley Publishing Co., California, P. 35-4

Hawking, S. W., 1996, A Brief History Of Time, Bantam Books, New York, P. 189

Hewitt, P. G., 1981, Conceptual Physics, Little, Brown and Co., Boston, P. 429-442

Wolff, M., 1990, Exploring The Physics Of The Unknown Universe, Technotran Press, California, P. 78, 111, 152-153

Reader's Note: Proper References And/Or Acknowledgments To This Text Are Appreciated.