THE MAGIC OF COLOR

A trim and simple introduction, ending with a practical application of the earlier basics. We say that a flower is red or a leaf green when it really just looks red or green, begins Simon, by way of explaining absorption and reflection of different light waves. Next, aided by the proper diagrams, she shows how the primary and complementary colors of light are the ""exact opposite"" of the primary and complementary colors of paint, the primary colors of one being the complementary colors of the other. She shows us a few ""color tricks"" explained by afterimages (the famous blue, black, and yellow American flag) and by the way a color seems to change according to the background. Finally we read and see how printers use screens and dots in combining three colors plus black to make full-color pictures. Neat, clear, and sufficiently illuminating at its level.