Color is defined by the light an object absorbs or reflects, so it's a tough question. What light does a mirror absorb (knowing that there has to be a minimum)
I would say silver, but I guess the best way to know is to take a mirror and pass it through a roughening process, to unsmooth it. Or, we can take a mirror, and take the thin film of reflective stuff and shine light through the thing and check the absorbed wavelengths of light.
You also have to realize color is an abstract thing. Yes, the same waves and so forth are reflecting for everything seeing it, but brains interpret things differently from person to person and species to species, and much like hearing some can see 'beyond' others.
it depends on where in the mirror you are looking and the angle of the mirror. Say I was standing in front of a mirror, and I was looking at a reflection of myself, and I look at my brown shirt. The color of the mirror is then brown. Whereas if I look at my face, I see the color "pasty".
<!--QuoteBegin-OttoDestruct+May 11 2005, 02:04 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (OttoDestruct @ May 11 2005, 02:04 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> You also have to realize color is an abstract thing. Yes, the same waves and so forth are reflecting for everything seeing it, but brains interpret things differently from person to person and species to species, and much like hearing some can see 'beyond' others. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd--> also color can change depending on the type of light, and strength of the source. Also, does color exist when there is no light present? These are age old debates that have yet to be definitively solved.
<!--QuoteBegin-Ratonetwothreetwoone+May 11 2005, 04:55 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Ratonetwothreetwoone @ May 11 2005, 04:55 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> o_o... is it a book...? or amovie...? or some random post..?? how am i supposed to think about it if i dont know what it is? <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd--> Post about a real mirror, and what wyou think its true "colour" is.
<!--QuoteBegin-theclam+May 11 2005, 05:33 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (theclam @ May 11 2005, 05:33 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> Just point a light at a mirror and record what wavelengths come back. This is a silly question. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd--> Wavelength != color.
<!--QuoteBegin-Nikon+May 11 2005, 05:07 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Nikon @ May 11 2005, 05:07 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> <!--QuoteBegin-OttoDestruct+May 11 2005, 02:04 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (OttoDestruct @ May 11 2005, 02:04 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> You also have to realize color is an abstract thing. Yes, the same waves and so forth are reflecting for everything seeing it, but brains interpret things differently from person to person and species to species, and much like hearing some can see 'beyond' others. <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd--> also color can change depending on the type of light, and strength of the source. Also, does color exist when there is no light present? These are age old debates that have yet to be definitively solved. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd--> I suppose technically there wouldn't be..since colour can only be perceived when light is absorbed/reflected off said object. Guess you could call it "potential colour" or something. <!--emo&???--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/confused-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='confused-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->
<!--QuoteBegin-OttoDestruct+May 11 2005, 05:41 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (OttoDestruct @ May 11 2005, 05:41 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> <!--QuoteBegin-theclam+May 11 2005, 05:33 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (theclam @ May 11 2005, 05:33 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> Just point a light at a mirror and record what wavelengths come back. This is a silly question. <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd--> Wavelength != color. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd--> If you know the wavelengths of the light that you send to the object, and the wavelengths of light that get reflected back, then you can determine the color of the object.
<!--QuoteBegin-GrayDuck+May 11 2005, 06:07 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (GrayDuck @ May 11 2005, 06:07 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> A mirror is Silver. The 'backing' on it is usually polished aluminum or silver - thus making the 'true' color of the mirror the same color.
What about the mirror being whatever color it's reflecting? Thats not the same thing as the color of the mirror - thats just redirected light.
*shrug* <!--emo&;)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/wink-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wink-fix.gif' /><!--endemo--> <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd--> The point is that no mirror is 100% reflective. You can derive the color of the mirror from the difference between the light that hits it and what gets reflected.
It seems like many mirrors are slightly green, which is the color you see if you get them lined up to get that infinite-repeat effect... Then wave at yourself, and yourself, and yourself, and...
<!--QuoteBegin-Darkns+May 11 2005, 06:55 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Darkns @ May 11 2005, 06:55 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> It seems like many mirrors are slightly green, which is the color you see if you get them lined up to get that infinite-repeat effect... Then wave at yourself, and yourself, and yourself, and... <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd--> Yeah', I was going to say that...that funny little green colour...not sure exactly what to call it...Ya know, the kind you see if you're looking at like a glass table or such at an odd angle.
oh.. thats a question.. i see now.. sounded more like a title of something.. what with the ou in color and all... my answer:
colors are lies.. theres no such thing!... youre all living in a fantasy world.. and mirrors arent colored anything... theyre portals.. in order to use them though you have to believe in colors nonexistence... which is impossible to achieve because people are "seeing" "color" everywhere they look... theyre raised to believe that color is the way light is processed in your eyes when really what were seeing is nothing...
so if youve been following along color is all in our imaginations.. as is the world.. and everything involved with ourselves and "others"... im not real.. this forum isnt real.. and most certainly color isnt real...
The green color is the fault of the glass. You will get the same effect if you line up like 5 panes of glass just for the hell of it. So we can determine at least that the glass on a mirror is green...
The innards are silver, if you could call that a color...
A perfect mirror would be colourless in the truest sense that it would reflect exactly what was put into it.
As that is not POSSIBLE yet... all current mirrors are silver, but the glass used (if it's glass and not plexiglass as it sometimes used) it'll have a slight green hue due to the crystaline nature of the glass
Comments
I would say silver, but I guess the best way to know is to take a mirror and pass it through a roughening process, to unsmooth it. Or, we can take a mirror, and take the thin film of reflective stuff and shine light through the thing and check the absorbed wavelengths of light.
To make a mirror, they sandwich a reflective sheet behind something hard and glass.
What the reflective surface cannot have is any type of color, and silver reflects light while absorbing none.
anyway...its Shiny... <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo-->
also color can change depending on the type of light, and strength of the source. Also, does color exist when there is no light present? These are age old debates that have yet to be definitively solved.
Post about a real mirror, and what wyou think its true "colour" is.
Wavelength != color.
also color can change depending on the type of light, and strength of the source. Also, does color exist when there is no light present? These are age old debates that have yet to be definitively solved. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
I suppose technically there wouldn't be..since colour can only be perceived when light is absorbed/reflected off said object. Guess you could call it "potential colour" or something. <!--emo&???--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/confused-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='confused-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->
Wavelength != color. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
If you know the wavelengths of the light that you send to the object, and the wavelengths of light that get reflected back, then you can determine the color of the object.
What about the mirror being whatever color it's reflecting? Thats not the same thing as the color of the mirror - thats just redirected light.
*shrug* <!--emo&;)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/wink-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wink-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->
What about the mirror being whatever color it's reflecting? Thats not the same thing as the color of the mirror - thats just redirected light.
*shrug* <!--emo&;)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/wink-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wink-fix.gif' /><!--endemo--> <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
The point is that no mirror is 100% reflective. You can derive the color of the mirror from the difference between the light that hits it and what gets reflected.
Then wave at yourself, and yourself, and yourself, and...
Then wave at yourself, and yourself, and yourself, and... <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
Yeah', I was going to say that...that funny little green colour...not sure exactly what to call it...Ya know, the kind you see if you're looking at like a glass table or such at an odd angle.
I'd say it's silver. There'd be a small problem with the colour waves being refracted by the glass twice (once going in, once out)
Or we could...you know....*gasp* break a mirror?
Anyway I broke mine, and it's silver~
colors are lies.. theres no such thing!... youre all living in a fantasy world.. and mirrors arent colored anything... theyre portals.. in order to use them though you have to believe in colors nonexistence... which is impossible to achieve because people are "seeing" "color" everywhere they look... theyre raised to believe that color is the way light is processed in your eyes when really what were seeing is nothing...
so if youve been following along color is all in our imaginations.. as is the world.. and everything involved with ourselves and "others"... im not real.. this forum isnt real.. and most certainly color isnt real...
*dissapears*
The innards are silver, if you could call that a color...
As that is not POSSIBLE yet... all current mirrors are silver, but the glass used (if it's glass and not plexiglass as it sometimes used) it'll have a slight green hue due to the crystaline nature of the glass