What color is the mirror? 99% of people get it wrong!

Everything we see is because the light it emits enters our eyes and is projected onto the retina through the refraction of the eyeball structure. Light signals are converted into electrical signals by photoreceptors, which are then transmitted to the brain via nerves. The different colors we see actually correspond to different combinations of different wavelengths of visible light.

The visible spectrum or visible light is the part of the electromagnetic spectrum that is visible to the naked eye. Electromagnetic radiation in the range of wavelengths is called visible light or simply light. The typical human eye can see electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths from about 380-760 nm.

The cone cells in the retina are responsible for sensing different wavelengths of light. Most people have 3 different types of cones that are sensitive to shorter wavelength blue light, medium wavelength green light, and longer wavelength red light. The combination of different intensities of the three signals is processed by the brain into rich colors.

However, this is how humans "see" colors, not how they "understand" colors. The difference of colors, such as blue and green, corresponding to the principal wavelength of light; the difference in saturation, such as blue and gray-green, corresponds to the complexity of the light; The difference in density, such as light green and dark green, corresponds to the amplitude of the light wave.

HSV color model. Different angles represent different colors, saturation increases from inside to outside and brightness increases from bottom to top.

You probably already know that there is no white light on the visible spectrum, so white is not a hue, but white can be a color. After mixing many colors with sufficient intensity, a color with no prominent hue, low saturation and high density is formed. In our brain, it is white. Sunlight is a type of white light containing all wavelengths of light in the visible spectrum.

When an object is illuminated with white light, it absorbs some wavelengths of light and reflects some wavelengths of light.

Colors made up of a narrow band (monochromatic light) are pure colors. The gamut over the spectral range is only an estimate, there is practically no boundary between the colors.

Back to the question 'what color is the mirror'. Common glass-coated or aluminum-coated mirrors reflect almost all light. When white light hits the mirror, the reflected light is naturally white. Therefore, we can say that the mirror is white from an optical perspective.

However, this answer is still not completely correct because we do not really see white as the actual color of the mirror. The aluminum or silver metal used to make the mirror does not have a specific cast color, the silica glass in the mirror is usually the one with the worst ability to absorb blue light. A 2004 physics study showed that the reflectance spectrum of the mirror has a peak between 495 and 570 nanometers, corresponding to the color green. It can therefore be said that the mirror is white with a hint of green.

Many species can see light from frequencies outside the "visible spectrum" of humans. Bees and many other insects can "see" ultraviolet light, which helps it find nectar in flowers. Plants that depend on pollinating insects for reproduction often emit prominent ultraviolet light, not just the color that the human eye can see. Birds can also see in the ultraviolet (300-400 nm), and some species even mark mate sovereignty with traces seen in the ultraviolet range. Although many animals can see ultraviolet, they cannot see red light or any other "red" spectrum.

Normally this blue is difficult to detect, but it becomes clear when we place two mirrors facing each other and let light continuously reflect between them. This device is called a "mirror tunnel" or "infinity mirror". The deeper the mirror tunnel, the more blue and darker the color can be seen.

In Grenada, Spain back in 2004, 2 researchers; Raymond L. Lee, Jr. and Javier Hernández-Andrés conducted an experiment in one of the most fascinating Science Museums; mirror tunnels.

The mirror tunnel is a detail containing 2 mirrors facing each other with 2 eye holes cut out for curious visitors to look in.

The researchers found that when the reflections of the mirrors were bounced back and forth more than 50 times, the green wavelength became the dominant wavelength we could see.

In turn, we can begin to see the green truth below, and for all of us, science shows that the green wavelength is 552 nanometers or more vaguely anywhere between 495 to 570 nanometers.