how is it possible that the lights are in a different order than, they are set.

That is because light travels in a line. It is explained in "Materials and parts" (https://www.khanacademy.org/partner-content/Exploratorium/Light-and-color/Colored-shadows/a/materials-and-parts)

I'm confused on why red, green, and blue are used. Why these colors? They have nothing in common.

The colours red, green and blue are used for additive combination of colors, they're the primary colours of light, primary colours can be combined to form secondary colors, for example combining blue and red lights will give you the mangenta colour light

what dose cyan look like im color blind thank you

Cyan is a very light and vibrant blue. :)

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Course: Exploratorium > Unit 2

Lesson 5: Colored Shadows

Yellow and cyan challenge

Name: Yellow and cyan challenge
Uploaded: 2014-01-21T02:24:15Z
Description: Now that we understand how the magenta shadow is produced, what about the other colors we see?

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Now that we understand how the magenta shadow is produced, what about the other colors we see? Created by Exploratorium.

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Noah Rendall (Relentless)
Posted 10 years ago. Direct link to Noah Rendall (Relentless)'s post “how is it possible that t...”
how is it possible that the lights are in a different order than, they are set.
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(8 votes)
Answer
- Anthy
  Posted 10 years ago. Direct link to Anthy's post “That is because light tra...”
  That is because light travels in a line. It is explained in "Materials and parts" (https://www.khanacademy.org/partner-content/Exploratorium/Light-and-color/Colored-shadows/a/materials-and-parts)
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  (5 votes)
Hannah
Posted 10 years ago. Direct link to Hannah's post “I'm confused on why red, ...”
I'm confused on why red, green, and blue are used. Why these colors? They have nothing in common.
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(3 votes)
Answer
- Rui Reis
  Posted 10 years ago. Direct link to Rui Reis's post “The colours red, green an...”
  The colours red, green and blue are used for additive combination of colors, they're the primary colours of light, primary colours can be combined to form secondary colors, for example combining blue and red lights will give you the mangenta colour light
  Comment on Rui Reis's post “The colours red, green an...”
  (9 votes)
Cyan Wind
Posted 10 years ago. Direct link to Cyan Wind's post “Does anyone see the shado...”
Does anyone see the shadows of his hand? I wonder why there is the blue one?
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(6 votes)
Answer
- SophiaWilson
  Posted 9 years ago. Direct link to SophiaWilson's post “There is a blue shadow be...”
  There is a blue shadow because the red and green colors of light are blocked
  by his hand and the blue isn't blocked since the blue bulb is in a different place than
  the red and green.
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  (1 vote)
Blake Parsons (Quest to 10,000,000... 75% complete!!!)
Posted 10 years ago. Direct link to Blake Parsons (Quest to 10,000,000... 75% complete!!!)'s post “what dose cyan look like ...”
what dose cyan look like im color blind thank you
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(2 votes)
Answer
- Zwoobz
  Posted 10 years ago. Direct link to Zwoobz's post “Cyan is a very light and ...”
  Cyan is a very light and vibrant blue. :)
  Comment on Zwoobz's post “Cyan is a very light and ...”
  (2 votes)
Dexter André Tofteland
Posted 10 years ago. Direct link to Dexter André Tofteland's post “What happens if you turn ...”
What happens if you turn the pencil sideways? Will its shadow be mostly black, and cast colorful shadows on the sides?
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(2 votes)
Answer
Kenneth Gabriel
Posted 10 years ago. Direct link to Kenneth Gabriel's post “Lets say there is three b...”
Lets say there is three bulbs. A, B, C. How is the shadow of B is filled with A and C since light travels in a straight line. If you were to aruge that the light from A and C bounces off the white board, then there is also a huge possiblity that light from B also bounces off the board to color its own shadow. Can anyone explain this?
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(2 votes)
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AquaOrchid
Posted 8 years ago. Direct link to AquaOrchid's post “What would happen if you ...”
What would happen if you placed the bulbs in a different order, such as red, blue, green?
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(1 vote)
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Dario Zelić
Posted 9 years ago. Direct link to Dario Zelić's post “How are lighbulbs of diff...”
How are lighbulbs of different color made?
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(1 vote)
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craycray_unicorn
Posted 9 years ago. Direct link to craycray_unicorn's post “How are other colors made...”
How are other colors made,like gold and silver?
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(1 vote)
Answer

Video transcript

- [Voiceover] When we have the red, the green, and the blue light separated at different positions and shining on the board, they scatter off the board, red plus green plus blue looks white. Now, when I make my shadows, I see three shadows. The middle shadow here is magenta. We can understand how that's made. In the middle, the pencil is blocking the green light. In that shadow made by blocking the green light, the red and the blue light scatter off the board. And we know now that red plus blue equals magenta. Now that you understand the magenta central shadow, try to figure out how the yellow shadow is made and how the cyan shadow is made. We'll return with another video to give you the answer.