Optics: Why is mixing of paint colors different from mixing light colors?

When you mix paint and light, it’s like mixing juice and sparkles, they act totally different!

Paint is like a color juice that covers a surface. If you mix red and blue paint, you get purple because the pigments are hiding on top of each other. It's like stacking colored cellophane, only one layer shows at a time.

Light, though, is like sparkles in the air. When you mix red and blue light, they shine together and make purple too! But here’s the twist: if you take away red or blue light, the other color stays bright. It's more like adding new sparkles to a party, each one adds its own shine.

• Paint mixing: Think of it as playing with crayons on paper. Each color covers part of the paper.
• Light mixing: Imagine using colored flashlights shining onto a white wall. All the colors combine in the air before they hit the wall.

So when you mix paint, you're hiding colors; when you mix light, you’re adding them, and that’s why they look so different! When you mix paint and light, it’s like mixing juice and sparkles, they act totally different!

Paint is like a color juice that covers a surface. If you mix red and blue paint, you get purple because the pigments are hiding on top of each other. It's like stacking colored cellophane, only one layer shows at a time.

Light, though, is like sparkles in the air. When you mix red and blue light, they shine together and make purple too! But here’s the twist: if you take away red or blue light, the other color stays bright. It's more like adding new sparkles to a party, each one adds its own shine.