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What is colour?

We learn about how colour works in school, but this short TED animation is a delightful refresher.

Michelle Starr Science editor
Michelle Starr is CNET's science editor, and she hopes to get you as enthralled with the wonders of the universe as she is. When she's not daydreaming about flying through space, she's daydreaming about bats.
Michelle Starr

(Screenshot by Michelle Starr/CNET Australia)

We learn about how colour works in school, but this short TED animation is a delightful refresher.

We all know — or should know — that colour is caused by the reflection of light waves at various frequencies. But why do some surfaces show certain colours?

A new video from TED Ed, a quite lovely three-minute animation, breaks it down into simple, easy-to-understand terms. Written and narrated by educator Colm Kelleher, it is part of the institution's program aimed at making scientific concepts accessible and easy to understand.

See how colour works and what it is below, then head across to the TED page for a short quiz and further reading.

Via exp.lore.com