"Pigment light" is not a standard scientific term in the context of light and color. It's likely that the question is referring to the interaction of light with pigments, which are substances that selectively absorb certain wavelengths of light while reflecting others. This reflected light is what our eyes perceive as color.
Here's a breakdown of how pigments and light interact:
- Pigments absorb light: When light falls on a pigment, certain wavelengths are absorbed by the pigment's molecules.
- Reflected light creates color: The wavelengths that are not absorbed are reflected back to our eyes. These reflected wavelengths determine the color we perceive.
- Subtractive color mixing: When mixing pigments, the process is called subtractive color mixing because each pigment absorbs more wavelengths of light, resulting in a darker color.
For example:
- A red pigment absorbs all wavelengths of light except red, which it reflects.
- A blue pigment absorbs all wavelengths of light except blue, which it reflects.
- When red and blue pigments are mixed, they absorb more wavelengths of light, leaving only a smaller range of wavelengths to be reflected. This results in the color purple.
Therefore, "pigment light" might be an informal way of describing the light that is reflected by a pigment, which determines the color we perceive.
