3M
Multimedia Projector MP8620
Theory and Diagrams
3M 1999
4-3
4-3.
Color Theory
An understanding of color theory provides a background for making the convergence and white balance
adjustments discussed in Section 6.
4-3-1.
Color
Color is a visual sensation that involves three
elements— a light source, an object, and a viewer.
Light is reflected and modified by an object, then
reaches the receptors in our eyes and is interpreted by
our brains into what we know as color.
Each color has its own measurable wavelength or
combination of wavelengths. The wavelengths of light
are not colored, but produce the sensation of color.
4-3-2.
Electromagnetic Spectrum
All wavelengths of light are part of the
electromagnetic energy spectrum. The spectrum is a
continuous sequence of energy waves that vary in
length from short to long. Visible light, the
wavelength that our eyes can detect, is only a small
portion of the entire spectrum. At one end of the
visible spectrum are the short wavelengths of light
we perceive as blue. At the other end of the visible
spectrum are the longer wavelengths of light we
perceive as red. All other colors are found
somewhere along the spectrum between blue and red.
