PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – Snow has a color that most everyone agrees upon. White! It certainly appears white, and there is a reason for that. We see colors based on how much visible light bounces off an object and into our eyes. When you have nearly all the visible light bouncing off of something, it appears as white.
Snow has a color that most everyone agrees upon. White! It certainly appears white, and there is a reason for that. We see colors based on how much visible light bounces off an object and into our eyes. When you have nearly all the visible light bouncing off of something, it appears as white.
If you look at a single snowflake close up, you will see it is made of ice crystals. Ice is typically clear, but can bounce light back to your eyes that is white. If you stack billions and billions of these snowflakes on the ground, there is a lot more of that white light bouncing back to you.
Snow can take on other colors, too. Remember, we see colors based on the light that bounces back to our eyes. Sometimes, snow can appear blue! According to my colleague Eric Fisher at CBS Boston, when heavy, wet snow compacts, air pockets are harder to come by. That allows the snow to absorb longer light wavelengths and scatter the short ones. This can make it appear blue, like glaciers. This effect can also occur if you look into a snowy, icy cave. The way the light leaves the blue hue in this instance is essentially the same reason our sky is blue: scattered light!
Sometimes, based on the light source you can get a golden hue to the snow. When the Sun is lower in the sky, it casts a golden light because of the scattered rays. That golden hue is reflected off the snow, making it a little more on the golden side.
Snow can be pink or purple, depending on how the light hits it. According to UCAR Center For Science Education, we should look to landscape artists. They usually don’t use white paint on their masterpieces. You will notice many other colors that are used to bring the landscapes to life!…