The Science of Color & Light: How We See & Use Color

Nova: Buckle up, Explorers.

Cosmo: Brains in!

Nova: Wheels up!

Nova & Cosmo: Brain Bus, let's GO!

Nova: Oh, hello there, Explorers! Welcome!

Nova: You are on The Brain Bus.

Nova: I'm Nova - I'm your driver today.

Nova: And our robot co-pilot is Cosmo!

Nova: Today, the Brain Bus is going somewhere colourful.

Nova: Very, very colourful!

Nova: But first - a big, big question.

Nova: Ready?

Nova: When the lights go out...

Nova: ...where do all the colours go?

Nova: Hmm! Let's find out together.

Nova: Explorers, look around you for a moment.

Nova: Can you spot something red?

Nova: Something yellow? Something blue?

Nova: Everything has a colour!

Nova: But here is the big secret.

Nova: Colours don't come from inside things.

Nova: Colours come from... LIGHT.

Nova: Can you say that? LIGHT!

Nova: LIGHT! Wonderful!

Nova: The sun shines light onto everything.

Nova: And each thing bounces some light back.

Nova: Back, back, back - into your eyes!

Nova: And that is the colour you see.

Nova: Let's try with an apple.

Nova: A big, round, red apple.

Nova: The light shines on the apple.

Nova: The apple bounces the red back.

Nova: Red bounces right into your eyes.

Nova: And you see... RED!

Nova: And a green leaf?

Nova: The leaf bounces the green back.

Nova: Green bounces into your eyes.

Nova: And you see... GREEN!

Nova: Can you say BOUNCE?

Nova: BOUNCE! Yes, you've got it!

Nova: Colours are just light bouncing into your eyes.

Nova: No light? No bouncing.

Nova: No bouncing? No colours.

Nova: Just grey.

Nova: In the dark, the colours are resting.

Nova: Just resting. Waiting for the light.

Nova: And when the light comes back...

Nova: ...whoosh! All the colours come rushing back!

Nova: They were there the whole time.

Nova: And what about the sky?

Nova: Why is it blue up there?

Nova: Well - sunlight is all the colours.

Nova: But blue light bounces the most.

Nova: It bounces all around the air.

Nova: Blue goes bouncing everywhere!

Nova: So the whole big sky looks blue.

Nova: Now - rainbows!

Nova: White sunlight looks plain, doesn't it?

Nova: Just white.

Nova: But white light is secretly ALL the colours.

Nova: All of them, hiding together inside.

Nova: And when raindrops fall from the sky...

Nova: ...they split the white light wide open.

Nova: And out come: red! Orange! Yellow!

Nova: Green! Blue! And violet!

Nova: A big, beautiful rainbow!

Nova: Can you say RAINBOW?

Nova: RAINBOW! Perfect!

Nova: And now - flamingos!

Nova: Those tall, wobbly, very pink birds.

Nova: Here is the most amazing thing.

Nova: Flamingos are not born pink.

Nova: When a baby flamingo hatches...

Nova: ...it is fluffy and grey.

Nova: Just grey, like a little cloud.

Nova: But then the flamingo eats tiny shrimp.

Nova: Those shrimp have pink stuff inside them.

Nova: And slowly, slowly, slowly...

Nova: ...the flamingo turns completely PINK!

Nova: The food made it pink!

Nova: Oh, I love that one so much.

Nova: Colour is everywhere, Explorers.

Nova: In birds. In flowers. In rainbows.

Nova: In everything the light touches.

Nova: Did you know people celebrate colour?

Nova: There is a very special festival.

Nova: It comes from Hindu families in India and Nepal.

Nova: It is called Holi.

Nova: HOH-lee.

Nova: In springtime, families and friends go outside.

Nova: They hold handfuls of bright, soft powder.

Nova: It is called gulal.

Nova: Goo-LAAL.

Nova: And they toss it high into the air!

Nova: Red! Yellow! Green! Pink! Blue!

Nova: Everyone gets covered in rainbow colours.

Nova: Laughing. Dancing. Celebrating together.

Nova: A whole festival made of colour and joy.

Nova: Isn't that the most wonderful thing?

Nova: Quiz time, Explorers! Three questions!

Nova: Let's get those brains working!

Nova: Question one. True or false.

Nova: You can see all your colours...

Nova: ...even in a dark, dark room.

Nova: True? Or... false?

Nova: False! That's right!

Nova: Colours need light to bounce into your eyes.

Nova: No light means no colours. Just grey!

Nova: Question two.

Nova: If you mix blue and yellow...

Nova: ...what new colour do you get?

Nova: Red? Green? Or purple?

Nova: Green!

Nova: Blue and yellow team up and make green!

Nova: A whole brand-new colour!

Nova: How brilliant is that?

Nova: Last question.

Nova: Why is a flamingo pink?

Nova: Did it paint itself?

Nova: Was it born that way?

Nova: Or is it pink from the food it eats?

Nova: From the food it eats!

Nova: All those tiny shrimp turned it pink.

Nova: Amazing!

Nova: Oh, Explorers. What wonderful thinkers you are.

Nova: Every single one of you.

Nova: Your brain was working and wondering.

Nova: And that is the very best thing.

Nova: Three amazing colour facts! Here we go!

Nova: Fact one.

Nova: Dogs can't see red or green.

Nova: To a dog, they look the same!

Nova: Fact two.

Nova: Bees can see a secret colour.

Nova: It is called ultraviolet.

Nova: You and I cannot see it at all.

Nova: But flowers have hidden patterns just for bees!

Nova: Like a secret message only bees can read.

Nova: Bees can see things we never can.

Nova: What a secret world!

Nova: Fact three.

Nova: For tens of thousands of years in Australia...

Nova: ...First Nations peoples have made colours from the earth.

Nova: Reds. Yellows. Whites.

Nova: All dug right from the ground.

Nova: These earthy colours are called ochre.

Nova: OH-kuh.

Nova: People have always loved colour, everywhere.

Nova: Time for a Road Challenge, Explorers!

Nova: Here is what I want you to do.

Nova: Close your eyes. Nice and tight!

Nova: Make it all dark in there!

Nova: What colour is everything now?

Nova: No colours! Just dark!

Nova: Now pop your eyes... OPEN!

Nova: Whoosh! All the colours come zooming back!

Nova: Try it again. Close...

Nova: ...and open!

Nova: Colours gone! Colours back!

Nova: Again - close...

Nova: ...open!

Nova: You are turning the colours on and off!

Nova: Because colours need the light.

Nova: And your eyes catch the light.

Nova: Here is a wondering question.

Nova: For everyone in the car.

Nova: I wonder...

Nova: If there was no light anywhere in the world...

Nova: ...would anything have a colour at all?

Nova: Hmm.

Nova: Explorers... listen for just a moment.

Nova: Here is the most important thing.

Nova: Colours are not hiding inside things.

Nova: Colours come from light.

Nova: Light shines. Light bounces.

Nova: Light bounces right into your eyes.

Nova: And that is the colour you see.

Nova: So in the dark, with no light...

Nova: ...there are no colours anywhere.

Nova: Just colours... quietly resting.

Nova: Waiting for the light to come home.

Nova: When you were a tiny new baby...

Nova: ...the world looked mostly grey to you.

Nova: Your colours came in slowly.

Nova: One by one, as your eyes grew.

Nova: Every colour you have ever loved...

Nova: Every sunset. Every flower. Every face.

Nova: It was all just light...

Nova: ...finding its way home to you.

Nova: What a beautiful journey today, Explorers.

Nova: Colours. Rainbows. Flamingos turning pink.

Nova: And a joyful festival from India and Nepal.

Nova: Next time we take off on the Brain Bus...

Nova: ...something brand new and amazing is waiting.

Nova: Something you are absolutely going to love.

Nova: Stay curious, stay clever, and keep that brain working!

Nova: Until the next stop, Explorers...

Cosmo: ...keep wondering.