In September 2015, the first direct observation of gravitational waves was successful. Up until then, however, our understanding of the universe, its structure and all that happens and has happened since the recording of time, had been based on measurements of the speed of light (different wavelengths) that makes its way to us from distant corners of the universe. We will talk about waves or particles (photons), Einstein’s worry about a ‘spooky action at a distance’ and we will define electronic colors (idiochromatic) and structural colors (caused by interference). This lecture covers the physical components that make up and create light, its experimental character, as well as the actual visual faculty, the formation of images and their influence on the colored image space of visual intelligence.

Günther Leising is a professor at the Institute of Solid State Physics at Graz University of Technology. His research and teaching focuses on photonics, innovative electronics and nanotechnology as well as organic solid state physics and chemistry.