what colour is one carbon atom? does a individual atom have colour?

Question

im not a scientist im just really interested in physics . does a atom have have colour? is it the structure atoms are in that produces the sensation of color or is it just how photons are absorbed and reflected?

Thanks you for any answers

Answer 1

colour is our ability to distinguish electromagnetic waves of different wavelengths within a small range, i.e. photons of a different energy. the cone cells in our eyes respond to different colours and our brain assigns names to different proportions of red, green and blue



visible photons are emitted by electron transitions within an atom. if a transition emits the right amount of energy for visible light, we see a coloured flash. Well, it takes millions for us to notice, but that's the principle.



So atoms don't have colour themselves. If excited, say by an electric discharge, they can emit coloured light. I'm not sure about carbon specifically. Sodium if excited can put out a distinctive yellow light.

Answer 2

Visible light has wavelengths between 350nm and 800 nm. Atoms are typically rather less than 1 nm across. So light simply doesn't notice an individual atom.



Colour is all about how a substance absorbs various wavelengths of light and reflects others so if light doesn't notice an object then it doesn't really have a colour.



Lets take carbon. The two common allotropes are graphite and diamond. Graphite is black (well grey actually) whereas diamond is white. (Completely transparent meaning it doesn't absorb light. That makes it white to me.) So you can see just what a difference the crystal structure makes.



Amorphous carbon is the nearest we get to loads to carbon atoms without any structure. (That is carbon powder or sticks made by gluing the powder into rods.) That is black.



Professionally I am often asked questions like, "Okay. I know xxx has no answer but if it did what would the answer be?" Sometimes the answers are useful.



So although carbon atoms have no colour, if you said, "Look what colour would they have if they had a colour?" then I would say "Black."

Answer 3

I also do not know.

But i think that individual atoms cannot posses color or at least and identifiable color. Why? because color is a phenomenon thru the absorption of light of different wavelengths. and this is a quality which a group of atoms can possess when bonded together by either type of bonding, ionic or covalent, or even some sort of arrangement or dispersion.

When its comes to molecules i think the question of colors becomes swallow-able.



Sorry if you mind me answering as i dont KNOW but i wud luv to know too.