The Science of Color in Non-Technical Terms

Time 2020-12-26 07:03:18

Web Name: The Science of Color in Non-Technical Terms

WebSite: http://www.colorbasics.com

ID:146457

Keywords:

of,Color,The,

Description:

Color. It's all around us. It brightens our life. Artists create beauty with it. But what is it and how do we define it? Refresh this page to see another colorful picture. Scientists and artists have been wondering about and studying color for thousands of years. From Plato's creation poem to Sir Isaac Newton's experiments refracting light through a prism to modern day scientific tools for measuring color, the study of color goes on. Without getting into too much technical detail, we have attempted to somewhat comprehensively cover the topic of color. We hope the person interested in color, who doesn't have a strong scientific background, can learn about and appreciate this vast subject. The amazing thing is that we have only three types of color receptors (cones) in our eyes. With just these three types, we can see hundreds of different colors and distinguish between two, only slightly different, colors. Complicating the study of color is the fact that people perceive color differently. This presented a problem when the scientific community was trying to devise a system of mathematically defining color. The problem was solved by the creation of the Standard Observer, that is, a system of defining how the average person sees color. Using this information, finally in 1931, the CIE (International Commission on Illumination) was able to devise a mathematical system where we can reference a color and everyone agrees on exactly what color it is. But it took hundreds of years of scientists and artists arguing and studying color to get to that point. Early color science defined the primary colors (or primitive colors, as they called them), as being light and dark or black and white. From these two colors, all other colors were somehow created. In the early 18th century, Sir Isaac Newton defined seven primary colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. Later that century, scientists finally settled on three primary colors, but what were they? The debate continued until modern times when we finally understood the difference between additive and subtractive colors. With this understanding, it has become possible to create almost any light source color on a television or computer monitor and any pigment or dye color, as in a color printer or a page in a magazine, by using only three primary colors. See the bottom of this page for links to different aspects of the science of color. Definition of Common Color Terms Confused about color terminology? Here a list of definitions for common color terms. Brightness The degree to which a color appears to reflect light. Chroma How strong a color appears. A red tomato is high in chroma. Pastel colors are low. Color Space An abstract model used as a way of defining color. There are many color models. Complementary Colors Two colors which are opposite each other in a color model. Grayscale A range of grays, from white to black, showing intensity only and no other color. This is what we commonly think of as black and white, although that is not technichally correct. A black and white image consists of only the colors black and white. The actual color (red, orange, yellow, etc.) Experiment withColor Therapy Glasses Lightness The degree to which colors appear to reflect light. Luminosity Brightness of a color. Primary Colors A set of three colors from which all other colors can be made. Saturation How strong or dominant the hue is. Shade A color which has been darkened by adding black. Spectrum The full range of colors which are visible when light is dispersed, as it is when passed through a prism. Tint A color which has been diluted with white so that it is no longer at maximum saturation. Tone How light or dark a color is. (Same as Value.) Value How light or dark a color is. (Same as Tone.) Lots More Color Information Select a topic of interest to you from the links below and explore the fascinating field of color. Light Scientists have studied light for thousands of years. Sir Isaac Newton was one of the first optic scientists. He developed the Corpuscular Theory. Additive and Subtractive Color Mixing Colored light is additive (absorbs color) while pigment color is subtractive (reflects color). Combining pigment colors creates darker colors, while the opposite is true when light colors are combined. History of Color Science Through the centuries, there have been many theories and many misconceptions regarding primary colors and how colors are created. Metamerism Although a color can be specifically defined mathematically, it can be generated by multiple, different combinations of the three primary colors. This is called metamerism. TriStimulus Every color can be defined by three values which are the proportions of each of the primary colors used to produce it. These are the tristimulus values.

TAGS:of Color The 

<<< Thank you for your visit >>>

The study of color is fascinating and complex. This is color theory, put into non-scientific terms.

Hot Websites