Hue, also spelling of color, is an aspect of an object that can be described in terms of hue, lightness, and saturation. In physics, color is specifically associated with the particular range of wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation visible to the human eye. Such wavelengths of radiation make up a portion of the electromagnetic spectrum known as the visible spectrum. So lightVision is clearly involved in color perception. However, humans can see in dim light even if they cannot distinguish colors. Colors are only visible when there is more light. Therefore, color perception also requires a certain critical intensity of light. Finally, we also need to consider how the brain responds to visual stimuli. Under the same conditions, the same object may appear red to one observer and orange to another. Of course, color perception depends on vision, light, and personal interpretation, and understanding color involves physics, physiology, and psychology. Objects appear colored by the way they interact with light. Analysis of this interaction and the factors that determine it is a matter of color physics. Color physiology involves the eye and brain's response to light and the sensory data they produce. Color psychology is called when the brain processes visual data, compares it with information stored in memory, and interprets it as color.
This article focuses on the physics of color. For an overview of primary colors, including mixtures of basic secondary and tertiary colors, see Color Wheel. For convenience, it is represented as 12 segments of a circle. For a description of color as a quality of light, see Light and Electromagnetic Radiation. For the physiological aspects of color vision, see Eyes.
Color vision. See also Painting for a discussion of the psychological and aesthetic uses of color.
Aristotle saw color as the product of a mixture of white and black. This was the prevailing view until Isaac's Newtonian prism experiment in 1666 provided the scientific basis for understanding color. Newton showed that a prism can separate white light into a series of colors called spectra (see diagram), and that the recombination of these spectral colors reproduces white light. Although he recognized that the spectrum is continuous, Newton, by analogy with his seven tones of the musical scale, divides the spectrum into segments of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. I used his 7 color names. Newton recognized that there are colors outside of spectral sequences, but he noted that unexpected differences between the perception of light and the perception of sound showed this strange side of color. When equal amounts of light rays of different colors, such as red and yellow, are projected onto a white surface, the resulting eye perception signals the brain to a single color (orange in this case). produced by a single ray. However, even when two tones are played simultaneously, the individual notes are easily distinguishable. The sound produced by combining tones is never the same as the sound of a single tone. A tone is the result of a particular sound wave, while a color can be the result of a single ray or any number of combinations of rays.
However, a color can be precisely specified by its hue, saturation, and lightness. These three attributes are sufficient to distinguish it from all other perceived colors. Hue is the aspect of color usually associated with terms such as red, orange, and yellow. Saturation (aka
You must be logged in to post a comment.