Although nearly everyone is familiar with colors from an early age and the fundamentals of color mixing are taught at various abstraction levels throughout kindergarten to high school, we repeatedly observe that our student teachers in physics have problems in explaining the subject. Therefore, we propose an experimental setup that focuses on the physical principles instead of on primary colors and that allows one to observe the color perception and the spectral composition simultaneously. Customary school equipment is sufficient to realize the setup. The concepts are appropriate for junior high level learners and above, encouraging students to experience color as a continuum rather than discrete shades. Moreover, teachers can inspect the quality of available color filters and prepare for experimental difficulties.
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September 2020
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September 01 2020
An Approach to a Physical Understanding of Color Mixing
Tina Schulze;
Tina Schulze
1
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
, Karlsruhe, Germany
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Günter Quast;
Günter Quast
1
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
, Karlsruhe, Germany
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Antje Bergmann;
Antje Bergmann
1
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
, Karlsruhe, Germany
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Roman Dengler
Roman Dengler
2
Karlsruhe University of Education
, Karlsruhe, Germany
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Phys. Teach. 58, 388–391 (2020)
Citation
Tina Schulze, Günter Quast, Antje Bergmann, Roman Dengler; An Approach to a Physical Understanding of Color Mixing. Phys. Teach. 1 September 2020; 58 (6): 388–391. https://doi.org/10.1119/10.0001833
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