Written by Vallabhi Venkatesh
Is white really colorless? What is the persistence of vision? How can we create new colors? We can answer all these and more such questions without any complex instruments involved. A Newton's Disc (or Disappearing Color Disc) has segments of different colors that appear as white when it spins rapidly. This disc can be helpful in teaching the students about some important concepts about light such as temporal optical mixing, additive color theory, and so on. So, let's start by making the fun color wheel!
Jump to Instructions
Time Needed:
30 mins
Materials Required:
Cardboard
Compact Disc
Toothpicks
Thread
Sketch pens / Crayons
Paper & Pen
Scissors
Glue
Concept(s) Taught:
Principle of Dispersion of Light | Temporal Optical Mixing | Additive Color Theory | Persistence of Vision
Skill(s) Focussed:
Frugal innovation | Questioning | Critical Thinking | Teamwork
Aligned Profession(s):
Physicist | Artist | Physics Teacher
Instruction Video:
Special Instructions for Teachers:
Q&A Round:
Encourage the students to question more about day-to-day, observable light-related phenomena such as why do we see the sky as blue, why do we see our image in the mirror, how are rainbows formed, and so on. Ask the students to attempt to answer these questions either during the session or as their homework.
Experiment with resources:
Push the students to come up with alternatives for the resources used in this activity.
Have fun making and share the works of your students with the hashtag #projectprayogshala to get featured!