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- Dictionarycolour/ˈkʌlə/
noun
- 1. the property possessed by an object of producing different sensations on the eye as a result of the way it reflects or emits light: "the lights flickered and changed colour" Similar
- 2. pigmentation of the skin, especially as an indication of someone's ethnicity: "discrimination on the basis of colour" Similar
verb
- 1. change the colour of (something) by painting, dyeing, or shading it: "he coloured her hair with a selection of blonde and brown shades" Similar
- 2. (of a person or their skin) show embarrassment or shame by becoming red; blush: "she coloured slightly" Similar Opposite
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Color (American English) or colour (British and Commonwealth English) is the visual perception based on the electromagnetic spectrum. Though color is not an inherent property of matter, color perception is related to an object's light absorption, reflection, emission spectra, and interference.
- Overview
- The nature of colour
colour, the aspect of any object that may be described in terms of hue, lightness, and saturation. In physics, colour is associated specifically with electromagnetic radiation of a certain range of wavelengths visible to the human eye. Radiation of such wavelengths constitutes that portion of the electromagnetic spectrum known as the visible spectrum—i.e., light.
Vision is obviously involved in the perception of colour. A person can see in dim light, however, without being able to distinguish colours. Only when more light is present do colours appear. Light of some critical intensity, therefore, is also necessary for colour perception. Finally, the manner in which the brain responds to visual stimuli must also be considered. Even under identical conditions, the same object may appear red to one observer and orange to another. Clearly, the perception of colour depends on vision, light, and individual interpretation, and an understanding of colour involves physics, physiology, and psychology.
An object appears coloured because of the way it interacts with light. The analysis of this interaction and the factors that determine it are the concerns of the physics of colour. The physiology of colour involves the eye’s and the brain’s responses to light and the sensory data they produce. The psychology of colour is invoked when the mind processes visual data, compares it with information stored in memory, and interprets it as colour.
This article concentrates on the physics of colour. For an overview of the primary colours, with their basic secondary and tertiary mixtures, usefully notated as the 12 segments of a circle, see colour wheel. For a discussion of colour as a quality of light, see light and electromagnetic radiation. For the physiological aspects of colour vision, see eye: Colour vision. See also painting for a discussion of the psychological and aesthetic uses of colour.
Britannica Quiz
More Art and Colors Quiz
Aristotle viewed colour to be the product of a mixture of white and black, and this was the prevailing belief until 1666, when Isaac Newton’s prism experiments provided the scientific basis for the understanding of colour. Newton showed that a prism could break up white light into a range of colours, which he called the spectrum (see figure), and that the recombination of these spectral colours re-created the white light. Although he recognized that the spectrum was continuous, Newton used the seven colour names red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet for segments of the spectrum by analogy with the seven notes of the musical scale.
Newton realized that colours other than those in the spectral sequence do exist, but he noted that
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all the colours in the universe which are made by light, and depend not on the power of imagination, are either the colours of homogeneal lights [i.e., spectral colours], or compounded of these.
Newton also recognized that
- Kurt Nassau
Jan 20, 2023 · What Is Color Theory? Color theory is the art and science of using color. It explains how humans perceive color (both physically and psychologically) and how colors mix, match, and contrast with one another. It also factors in the messages that colors communicate.
Aug 11, 2023 · Color is science, physics, and emotions. Color is everything, and it basically leads us to choose the things we buy, influences how we feel, and conveys subconscious messages every day. Learning what color is helps us understand this fascinating part of science and, of course, the world we live in.
Oct 21, 2024 · Colour - Visible Spectrum, Wavelengths, Hues: Newton demonstrated that colour is a quality of light. To understand colour, therefore, it is necessary to know something about light. As a form of electromagnetic radiation, light has properties in common with both waves and particles. It can be thought of as a stream of minute energy packets ...
- Kurt Nassau
Inks, paints, dyes, and crayons get their color from pigments, or substances that reflect certain colors of light. The three primary colors of pigments are magenta (a purplish red), yellow, and cyan (a blue-green).
Dec 18, 2012 · Have you ever wondered what color is? In this first installment of a series on light, Colm Kelleher describes the physics behind colors-- why the colors we see are related to the period of...
- 3 min
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- TED-Ed
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