Color

wavelength of light in the visible electromagnetic spectrum (380-750 nm)

the perceptual dimension that encodes emotion in prysm and carries evolutionary survival signals

the visible spectrum

color wavelength emotion arousal
red 620-750 nm anger highest
orange 590-620 nm disgust high
yellow 570-590 nm surprise high
green 495-570 nm joy medium
blue 450-495 nm interest low
indigo 420-450 nm sadness low
violet 380-420 nm fear lowest

physics

  • color is electromagnetic radiation — oscillating electric and magnetic fields
  • wavelength determines energy: shorter wavelength = higher energy per photon
  • human cone cells: S (short/blue), M (medium/green), L (long/red) — three channels, infinite perception

biology

  • trichromatic vision evolved in primates for foraging: detecting ripe fruit against green foliage
  • chlorophyll absorbs red and blue, reflects green — the color of life is what photosynthesis rejects
  • color vision is a survival technology: threat detection, food selection, mate assessment, navigation

in the cybergraph

  • color is the semantic channel between protocol state and human perception
  • see color-emotion spectrum for the full evolutionary theory
  • see emotion for implementation in prysm

Local Graph