Color surrounds us. In nature, at school and at home, even at the stores in the mall, color not only provides essential visual cues to our physical world, but also influences our feelings and maybe our thoughts. In what other ways does color influence our lives?

Color begins with light. In the early 1600s Sir Isaac Newton showed that a glass prism caused white light to spread out — or disperse — into a range, or spectrum, of colors. Newton named these segments of color with seven familiar names: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet.

Imagine light as a constant flow of tiny waves of varying length. A beam of light has frequency, wavelength, and energy. The colors we see are found in a very narrow range of wavelengths along the visible spectrum of light. These wavelengths range from about 400 nm at the indigo end to about 700 nm at the red end of the spectrum. Forms of light we cannot see — X rays, microwaves, and radio waves — fall on either end of the visible spectrum.

• Look at the visible spectrum of light.
• Follow in Newton's footsteps by simulating how a prism disperses white light (the combination of all colors) in Riverdeep's Physics Explorer activity Dispersion of White Light.
• See how light of varying wavelengths (different colors) affects the rate of photosynthesis in Riverdeep's Biology Gateways activity Why Are Leaves Green?

• To learn more about the relationship among colors, take a tour "Around the Color Wheel."

However, the scientific palette of colors differs slightly from the artistic. The spectrum breaks down into the primary colors of red, green, and blue, or additive colors.

Mixing these three colors in equal amounts produces white. Mixing two of these colors produces another color — cyan, magenta, or yellow — the subtractive colors. This color system, known by the initials RGB, is used in computer monitors and television sets. Dots of red, green, and blue create the image. Yellow, cyan, and magenta appear where the dots overlap.

• For a more detailed explanation of the RGB color system, look at this color display primer.

Magazines and other printed materials use a system that separates the subtractive colors — cyan, magenta, and yellow — and black into millions of dots of color of different sizes, patterns, and percentages on a page. Our eyes recombine these individual dots to form the colorful images in magazines and catalogs. This system is also known by the initials CMYK ("K" indicates black), or as process color.

• To learn about the CMYK color system, read "Spot vs. Process Color."

Our own experiences also affect our perception of color. Certain colors can evoke emotions, smells, and even memories. Advertisers and manufacturers also pay attention to other factors that affect our perception of color:

• Demographics: The younger the audience, the more essential the color message. Thanks to advances in computer technology, kids want and expect bright, vivid colors. Hot, bright, neon colors appear on backpacks, clothing, and bicycles. Sometimes kids choose a color, slime green for example, just because it repels their parents, thus making it more appealing.

  Color choices are made along gender, ethnic, or cultural lines as well. In North America, white is associated with snow, youth, and bridal gowns. But in China, white is the color worn for mourning. Among Caucasians, red commonly sends a message of power. However, among Hispanics, bright blue sends the same message.

• Technology: Some color experts predict that numerous shades of copper, bronze, and metallic colors will appear over the next few years to conform to a more "high tech" view of color. These complex colors say "exciting" and "new," and appeal to our sophisticated visual expectations.

  The Color Marketing Group is a nonprofit organization of professional designers from a number of industries who meet twice a year to make color forecasts. The forecasts are based on social trends, politics, art, fashion, and technology. As a result of these conferences, the professionals provide a one- to three-year forecast and a color palette that can be used in industries from hotels, health care, architecture, and fashion. Read what the Color Marketing Group has to say about what colors will be big in 2002.

• What do you notice about the colors of the packages? Are the colors bright and vibrant or dull and dreary?
• Do different manufacturers use the same colors? What colors are used the most? Why do you think these colors are used most often? What message do these colors convey?
• What colors don't you see? Why do you think certain colors are missing?