Why we measure the color of light in degrees Kelvin
In short: Your brain corrects for lighting so that white paper always looks white, but why do scientists use a unit of temperature to describe this visual phenomenon? This video explores the intersection of human perception and physics.
The paradox lies in our ability to perceive constant colors despite changing environments. While an object's objective color shifts under different lights, our brains maintain a consistent experience. To replicate this, cameras use "white balance" to ensure white objects appear neutral rather than tinted by the light source.
Technically, Kelvin is a unit of temperature, not color. The reason it serves as the standard for measuring light color is rooted in both historical convention and the underlying physics of how different temperatures produce specific visual spectra.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: The Color Temperature Paradox
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