We can't measure it the same as RF or acoustical heterodyning because the wavelengths are so small, but it follows the exact same laws, detection is the pain in the rear part. The details are way of my head, but then again that's why it's a field being actively studied.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optical_heterodyne_detection
We can't measure it the same as RF or acoustical heterodyning because the wavelengths are so small, but it follows the exact same laws, detection is the pain in the rear part. The details are way of my head, but then again that's why it's a field being actively studied.
Visible light must follow some mathematical formula to add two colours to make other colours.
like R+G = Y , red = 430–480 THz, green = 540–610 THz to yellow = 510–540 THz
I think you are mixing two different principles here. One is heterodyning as mentioned above and refers generating sum and difference frequencies.
The other (post#5) is our perception of color based on the differential excitation of the cones in our eyes. Check: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_perception . It might also be worth searching on "color blindness."
I think you are mixing two different principles here. One is heterodyning as mentioned above and refers generating sum and difference frequencies.
The other (post#5) is our perception of color based on the differential excitation of the cones in our eyes. Check: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_perception . It might also be worth searching on "color blindness."
John
If you shine two different color lights onto a white surface you get the 'mix' but the mix is just what the eye interprets when it sees two frequencies instead of one. They dont actually change frequency, you just get two frequencies instead of one.
As Nigel said the light won't 'mix' at least not on a fundamental level, if you converge a red and green laser on a point you will see yellow light, but the fundamental frequency of the light won't change, if you look at it on a spectrograph you'll still see red and green only. Human visual perception is a lot more complicated than people take for granted.