How can colour, light and perception be vividly conveyed, if not with colour and light?
The Colour-Light-Box developed by the Colour-Light-Centre provides a playful and experimental approach to basic perceptual phenomena related to colour and light.
The simple set-up with two dynamically controllable RGB LED light sources and a dividing wall with a central window enables the staging of colour combinations and colour contrasts using coloured light.
This opens up a wide range of applications in creative teaching, both on basic topics such as additive and subtractive colour mixing, various contrast and shadow phenomena, and on more application-oriented issues such as the design of a stage set.
Functions
- Manual light controllers allow to individually change the colours of the lights in the front as well as in the back part and thus stimulating own questions and experiments.
- By turning the lateral knob, a shadow can be cast onto the wall of the rear room. Colour shadows or coloured shadows can be observed.
- By placing an object in the colour-light box, the interaction of surface colours and coloured light can be investigated and reproduced.
- Selected contrast phenomena are preprogrammed and can be triggered directly. They show how specific aspects of the spatial and temporal context of a colour can influence the way colours are perceived.
Light dark contrast
The brightness in the rear section remains unchanged for each colour, while the brightness in the front section varies from light to dark. Surprisingly, however, the brightness of the central light field seems to change dynamically from dark to bright.
Simultaneous contrast
The coloured light in the front section subtly influences the greyish light of the central light field in the direction of the respective complementary colour. If the light in the anterior section is white, the light field does not appear coloured.
Afterimages
The light in both chambers change to the corresponding complementary colours after 12 seconds. In this sequence, afterimage and the following colours of light are the same. The intensity of the colours is temporarily increased.
Colour shadows
Although the produced shadow remains physically unchanged, the colour seems to change. The perceived colour tends towards the complementary colour. If the light in the front and back section is white, the shadow appears grey.
In order to observe the colour shadows the side knob on the color-light-box must be turned accordingly (for direct illumination).
Features
- intuitively operable
- light, robust, transportable
- timeless in design
- four preprogrammed contrast phenomena :
Light-dark contrast , Simultaneous contrast , Afterimages , Colour shadows
- programmable
- versatile
- suitable for every school level
Technical data
Case
- Dimensions: 30 x 30 x 45 cm
- Weight: 4 kg
- Material: Anodised aluminium plate
Interface
- 6 Light controllers for front / rear chamber
- 2 switches for RGB / HSB colour mode
- 4 switches for colour light programs
Electronics / LEDs
- Open media controller (OMC)
- 2 LCD displays
- USB port
- 2 RGB LED strips
- Built-in power supply unit
- Power supply 220 V