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Dewi1066
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Dewi1066
539 posts
Nomad

It's argued that black is not a colour, it is the absence of colour.

But if I go to buy a new car, I don't ask for a car that is absent of colour do I? I ask for a black car.

So which is it, is black a colour or not?

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AfterBurner0
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AfterBurner0
896 posts
Nomad

And if you mix red and white,


You get pink!

Therefore I guess the cristal and obsidian I mentioned before are very dark shades of brown.


Or very dark shades of blue, or green, or orange.

If you define colour as light of a certain wavelength, white definitely is a colour. Now black depends on how you look at it: if you say your colours are part of N={1,2,3,...}, pure black is not a colour (no wavelength), and the darker colours that appear black to us can be counted as shades of the respective colour. But if you say you look at N={0,1,2,3,...}, then you're obliged to take black (wavelength zero) as a separate colour, and darker colours are mix of black and another one.
...hope that makes sense..


It doesn't make much sense, but I'll try to comprehend as much as I can. I think you are saying that since I define color as wavelength, then no wavelength should still be on the color spectrum. But black absorbs all light and does not reflect any. A color reflects light. This is why, when you reflect and/or refract light through a prism, there is no black.

no its a shade


Thank you for agreeing.
thebluerabbit
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thebluerabbit
5,340 posts
Farmer

True, on a molecular scale, ink will still be present. However, color is the reflection of light, if you get a large enough ratio of black to red, red will be drowned out, thus it will no longer be reflected and only black will remain.


and what reflects the light. like chlorophile there are materials that are inside objects that will make us see the colour. the material that makes it red will still be there.
HahiHa
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HahiHa
8,253 posts
Regent

You get pink!

Yep. Now do you consider pink as colour or as shade of red? Because it can be seen as both, right?

Or very dark shades of blue, or green, or orange.

Yes, but since some kind of regular brown mineral impurity in the matter is absorbing the light, when I hold them against a light source I clearly see the brown.

It doesn't make much sense, but I'll try to comprehend as much as I can. I think you are saying that since I define color as wavelength, then no wavelength should still be on the color spectrum.

I actually just played around with mathematics. First of course I defined colour as a number (the wavelength), and then took two different sets of numbers in which I can identify those numbers: N={1,2,3,...} and N(0)={0,1,2,3,...}. Since black is wavelength=0 (no light emitted), it is found in N(0) but not in N (since 0 is not part of the set N); therefore I stated that in N, black is a shade, and in N(0) it is a colour.

... I'm not sure if I made it clear, but I couldn't explain it better.
Orlemens
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Orlemens
17 posts
Nomad

Black is a color wich exists evrywhere produced by nature
wich means it is a color but then in science it is not a color it is an color wich is not there

Masterforger
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Masterforger
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Peasant

Only deepest black, like what is in your pupils, is the true absence of color. For paintings, cars etc, black is a color because the color your seeing is obviously reflecting light, to do that it would have to at least have a trace of another color in it.

Darktroop07
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Darktroop07
3,592 posts
Shepherd

Black is a color since it eats up all light and reflects them all on itself I think and it's my favorite color second is Azure.

Patrick2011
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Patrick2011
12,319 posts
Treasurer

I've seen the discussion on here, and this is what acmed said:

Black is not a color, but a mix of all colors as one shade. When you turn off the lights, you see black. Turn them back on, you cannot see "true" black, but only the darkest colors that absorb light. There's no black in the visible spectrum of the electromagnetic spectrum. That's why it's only seen at night in the dark.


It depends on the medium. With light, mixing all colors results in white, not black. However, mixing all colors of paint results in black. Also, turning off the lights alone won't show you "true" black. To do that, you would have to be in a completely enclosed room with absolutely no light. This is known as total darkness, and I actually experienced it once.

Anyway, now I shall discuss the subject of black as it relates to computers. This is a sample of what a computer considers black:

http://i1225.photobucket.com/albums/ee400/Patrick2011b/Images%20for%20Armor%20Games/ComputersInterpretationofBlack.png

That image is considered black because it has an RGB value of 0,0,0. The hexadecimal value of black is #000000. However, it turns out that what a computer considers black is not true black. It is actually a very dark shade of gray. You can see this for yourself by changing the brightness of your screen. Increasing the brightness makes "black" look lighter, while reducing the brightness makes it darker.

So, true black is not a color because it can only be achieved in the complete absence of light, but the black we experience on a regular basis is a color because it reflects light.
xAyjAy
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xAyjAy
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Blacksmith

If you define color as they do in science, then it's undebatably not a color because it's not reflecting any light.

white reflects light, but i heard it is not a color, too.

master565
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master565
4,104 posts
Nomad

white reflects light, but i heard it is not a color, too.


White is a color according to the scientific definition. White isn't a color according to the popular definition (the one based off pigments and the such) because all colors can be created by mixing other colors, except for white.
MrDayCee
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MrDayCee
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King

In my opinion, when you mix colours it will ultimately turn black, thus making black a colour! =)

White however is simply the opposite of black, namely the absence of colours alltogether, so this can't be considered a colour if you ask me! =D

Patrick2011
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Patrick2011
12,319 posts
Treasurer

In my opinion, when you mix colours it will ultimately turn black, thus making black a colour! =)

White however is simply the opposite of black, namely the absence of colours alltogether, so this can't be considered a colour if you ask me! =D


What you said only applies to paint, not light. With light, combining all colors creates white, but no light is black.
ThroatLozenge
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ThroatLozenge
146 posts
Nomad

A collection of possible answers depending on what you mean by colour.

1) Black is the absence of colour and is therefore not a colour (when it comes to light)

But what you call black all the time is a colour. As it is not TRUE black.

So if someone comes up to you and says "What colour is this dog?" And shows you a pure black lab. You can then say "Black. Idiot." and be right. Because that labrador is not TRUE black.

Black is a colour when you are talking about the colours of tangible objects. Not when it comes to the colour as being generated by light (say you`re looking at a tv with the black lab on it, that black is the absence of colour and is not a colour)

ThroatLozenge
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ThroatLozenge
146 posts
Nomad

Lol fail to edit my post. There is not a collection of answers. Just the two I pointed out xD Pretend the

1)
isn`t there.

And also pretend the first sentence says ``Ãt depends on what you are referring to`` lol
Joe96
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Joe96
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Peasant

Black is all of the colors mixed together, therefore, contrary to the idea of black being the absence of color, it is in fact the presence of color.
Sounded smart there, didn't I?

LucasDaLegend
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LucasDaLegend
1,066 posts
Nomad

-_-^

Black is not a colour, it is, as Joe96 said, a load of colours mixed together. Black is therefore a shade - not a colour.

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