Though many people may not think so, physics projects can also relate to common, everyday situations in the lives of teenagers. Case in point, Paula Besa used her project to examine how lighting can make makeup look right.
Hypothesis
I believe that colors under a warm light bulb most closely resemble colors under true sunlight. I also believe 40-watt light bulbs, used in my bathroom, distort the colors farthest from their appearance in sunlight.
Independent variables
Type of light bulb used
Dependent variables
Color observed under different light
Controls
- Color box (described in the Materials section)
- Photograph
Materials
- Sunlight
- A big piece of cardboard with color stripes on one side and picture of a lady wearing makeup on the other side
- Color box, a cardboard box, lined with colored cloth.
-
When a light is shined in the box, the reflected light, which bounces off the surface of the cloth, determines the colors that you see.
- Warm light bulb
- Cool light bulb
- 40-watt light bulb
- SPX35 light bulb
- SPX41 light bulb
- SP35 light bulb
- SP41 light bulb
- Incandescent light bulb
Procedures
For each light source, do the following:
- Take the cardboard outside and observe what the color stripes and makeup look like under the sun.
- Record your observations.
- Indoors, test each type of light bulb using the color box.
- Observe the color stripes and write down your observations.
Results
The results for each light source are as follows:
Sunlight
The red stripe was pink.
The orange stripe was orange-yellow.
The yellow stripe was yellow.
The green stripe was yellow-green.
The blue stripe was blue.
The purple stripe was purple.
The lipstick was pink.
The blush was red-orange.
The eye shadow was green-black.
Warm white light bulb
The red stripe was dark red.
The orange stripe was yellow-orange.
The yellow stripe was bright yellow.
The green stripe was dark green.
The blue was dark blue.
The purple was dark purple.
The lipstick was reddish pink.
The blush was light brown.
The eye shadow was dark green.
SP41 light bulb
The red stripe was pinkish red.
The orange stripe was dark orange.
The yellow stripe was yellow.
The green stripe was green.
The blue stripe was blue.
The purple stripe was dark purple.
The lipstick was pink.
The blush was dark red.
The eye shadow was dark green.
SP35 light bulb
The red stripe was pink.
The orange stripe was bright orange.
The yellow stripe was bright yellow.
The green stripe was green.
The blue stripe was blue.
The purple stripe was dark purple.
The lipstick was red.
The blush was pink.
The eye shadow was dark green.
Incandescent light bulb
The red stripe was pink.
The orange stripe was yellow-orange.
The yellow stripe was yellow.
The green stripe was green.
The blue stripe was green-blue.
The purple stripe was purple.
The lipstick was pink.
The blush was red-orange.
The eye shadow was brown.
Cool white light bulb
The red stripe was dark red.
The orange stripe was yellow-orange.
The yellow stripe was green-yellow.
The green stripe was green.
The blue stripe was blue-green.
The purple stripe was purple.
The lipstick was red.
The blush was orange.
The eye shadow was blue.
SPX41 light bulb
The red stripe was pink.
The orange stripe was dark orange.
The yellow stripe was yellow-green.
The green stripe was green.
The blue stripe was blue-green.
The purple stripe was purple.
The lipstick was red.
The blush was pink.
The eye shadow was gray.
40-watt light bulb
The red stripe was dark pink.
The orange stripe was yellow-orange.
The yellow stripe was yellow-green.
The green stripe was light green.
The blue stripe was blue-green.
The purple stripe was purple.
The lipstick was orange.
The blush was pink.
The eye shadow was gray, almost black.
Conclusions
My hypothesis was that the warm light bulb would show colors and makeup closest to sunlight, and that the 40-watt light bulb was the farthest from natural sunlight. The hypothesis was partially correct because the closest to natural was the SPX30 light bulb, but the 40-watt light bulb was the farthest from sunlight. Therefore, the best bulb to use for putting on makeup is the SPX30 light bulb.
My recommendations for future experiments include measuring the footcandles (the light on a surface, equal to one lumen per square foot) and lumens (the amount of light given out through a solid angle) of each light bulb. Another improvement would be using more types of bulbs, and observing the difference in sunlight at different times of day.
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