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Torch light through fingers

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PullUpTulip | 13:55 Tue 08th Jan 2008 | Science
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When you shine a torch through your fingers they look red obviously. Is this because of the blood or the fact that red light is the slowest?
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red light is the slowest?? right oh!
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Thanks Loosehead, most helpful.
You are familiar with what happens when light is shined through a prism. Which happens because the colours which make up white light travel at different speeds.
Was that supposed to be a sarcastic answer Loosehead?

The speed of light is only the same for all wavelengths when passing through a vacuum.
When passing through other transparent substances such as glass and water, red light is indeed slower than blue light.

PullUpTulip, The speed of light has nothing to with what you are seeing - it is, as you suspected, because of the blood which absorbs blue/green frequencies.
Light (and all other forms of electromagnetic radiation) travels at a constant velocity 'c' regardless of its wavelength ('colour'). The apparent slowing of light through a transparent medium is due to the constant absorption and reemission of light by the particle of that medium.

Red light is not slower than blue light.
Don't bother mate, I gave up days ago!

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