The receiver is our eyes which receive the wavelength of the color. The medium is the process of reflection of the wavelength of the color. To be completely accurate, a color reflects the wavelengths in the NM range that our retinal cones respond to. The colors we see are simply a degree of how much of this color present in light is reflected. White reflects all the colors of the visible light spectrum to the eyes. In physics, a black body is a perfect absorber of light.Ģ.If appropriate proportions of three primary pigments are mixed, the result reflects so little light as to be called 'black.' In reality, what appears to be black may be reflecting some light. For example, a black pigment results from a combination of several pigments that collectively absorb most colors. A black object may look black, but, technically, it may still be reflecting some light.Black is not a color a black object absorbs all the colors of the visible spectrum and reflects none of them to the eyes. Pigments and coloring agents (as described in Part 1) are only half of the answer.ġ. The best answer combines both of the theories described in Part 1 and Part 2. (If a tree falls in the forest and there is nobody around does it make a sound? Does a color exist if there is no one to see it?) In other words, how we receive information about color. The sender - How the color is transmitted.ģ. The medium - The color as it exists as a pigment/colorant (such as the color of a tangible object) or as light (such as the color of an image on a television screen).Ģ. Consider the fact that there are three parts to the process of the perception of color.ġ. The final answer to whether black and white are colors takes other factors into consideration.Ĭolors exist in the larger context of human vision. For this reason, a fourth 'primary' pigment, black, is often used in addition to the cyan, magenta, and yellow colors. In the print industry, cyan, magenta and yellow tend to produce muddy brown colors. In theory, mixing equal amounts of three primary colors should produce shades of grey or black when all three are fully saturated. More Information about CMYK primary colors: Therefore, you could say that white is a color in the context of pigment chemistry. It's worth noting that white paper is made by bleaching tree bark (paper pulp). However, when you examine the pigment chemistry of white, ground-up substances (such as chalk and bone) or chemicals (such as titanium and zinc) are used to create the many nuances of white in paint, chalk, crayons - and even products such as Noxema. Therefore, white is the absence of color in the strictest sense of the definition. In other words, you can't mix colors to create white. Technically, pure white is the absence of color. in some cases you could say that white is a color. Therefore, if someone argues that black is the absence of color, you can reply, “What is in a tube of black paint?” However, you must add the fact that black is a color when you are referring to the color of pigments and the coloring agents of tangible objects. The history of black pigments includes charcoal, iron metals, and other chemicals as the source of black paints. You won't get a jet black, but the point will be clear. Here's a simple way to show how black is made: Combine all three primary colors (red yellow and blue) using a liquid paint or you even food coloring. Learn more about the purest symbolism of colors in this online course - Organic Color Symbolism - from Color Matters.Ĭolor Theory 2 - Color as Pigment or Molecular Coloring Agents That's the symbolism of the color that some say isn't a color. This is additive color theory.īlack = predator & danger. You can also use a prism to demonstrate this.įact: The sum of all the colors of light add up to white. You can't see the colors of sunlight except when atmospheric conditions bend the light rays and create a rainbow. Sunlight is white light that is composed of all the colors of the spectrum. White is the blending of all colors and is a color. In other words, there are no photons of colors.Ģ. Test this out by going into a photographic dark room. When there is no light, everything is black. Black is the absence of color (and is therefore not a color) Black and white cats generated on a television.ġ.

Black light color spectrum