A New Interpretation of the Physical Color Theory Based on the Descartes´ Rotation Energy of Visible, Ultraviolet and Infrared Photons

Abstract

During the past four hundred years the Newtonian and Goethean schools collected many experimental observations on the formation of colors. The situation became more complicated after the experiments of Land who documented that the classical color theory (= colors correspond to exact wavelength of light) is valid completely in the dark surroundings only. We are at the crossroads to find the boundary between the physical properties of colors and the perception of those photons in the retina and the brain. Therefore, the more general physical color theory should interpret those color effects where the classical physical color theory fails. As a potential candidate we present the overlooked Descartes´ color theory based on the rotation energy of visible, ultraviolet, and infrared photons. The rotation energy of colors was defined as E = hν570*(λx/λ570) where index describes the wavelength of photons in nanometers. This new mathematical description of colors enables to newly interpret situations where the average rotation energy of all reflected photons determines the color impression. The colors formed behind the triangular prism could be interpreted as the lateral diffusion of the rotation energy of ultraviolet and infrared photons (= called by Old Masters as the interplay of darkness with the light) through the field of refracted visible photons and with the modification of their rotation energy. The white color can be interpreted as the constructive interference of red, green, and blue colors with the constructive angle cos (120°) = -0,5. The black color can be interpreted as the destructive interference of cyan, magenta, and yellow colors with the destructive angle cos (180°) = -1. For the case of illumination with a range of wavelengths the resulting color is determined from the average rotation energy of all reflected photons – a model for the interpretation of the color constancy.