At 09:35 PM 11/19/02 +1300, Morgan Owens wrote: <snipped>
...relativistic effects alter the electrons' orbits sufficiently that the energy gap between the atom's d and s shells is narrowed, and the deeper shell (the d) becomes affected by interactions that (non-relativistically) would only affect the s shell. The energy absorption band is pulled into the visible part of the spectrum, and so gold takes on the color "silver minus blue"....
A very...ummm...interesting point. But it does not describe the creation of color. It describes how the *frequency* of electromagnetic radiation in the visual range is affected by relativistic effects in atoms. Color itself is a subjective sensation in the mind. It does not exist until the radiation reaches the mind via the eyes, optic nerve, and visual cortex. Jim (always subjective) Muth