Substances with a Single Visible Absorption Band Cannot Be Green
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Updated: Jul 9, 2025

Characterization of Biological Absorption Spectra Spanning the Visible to the Short-Wave Infrared
Published on: January 10, 2025
1Dept. of Environmental Systems Science, ETH Zurich, CH-8092 Zurich. pierre.funck@env.ethz.ch.
Abstract:
Some chemistry textbooks use an inappropriate colour model when discussing the colour of a substance that absorbs light at a specific wavelength. More specifically, these textbooks state that substances that absorb only in the violet end of the visible spectrum are green-yellow and substances that absorb only in the red end are blue-green. This paper presents a more accurate approach.
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