The answer to the question - "Are black and white colors?" - is one of the most debated issues about color. Ask a scientist and you'll get a reply based on physics: “Black is not a color, white is a color.” Ask an artist or a child with crayons and you'll get another: “Black is a color, white is not a color.” (Maybe!) Show There are four sections on this page that present the best answers.
Introduction: How Colors Exist # 1 - The First Answer: Color Theory #1 - Color as Light # 2 - The Second Answer: Color Theory #2 - Color as Pigment or Molecular Coloring Agents # 3 - The Third and Most Complete Answer: Vision and Reflection Comments from color pros: More about black & white IntroductionHow Colors Exist A basic understanding of how colors are created is the first step in providing correct answers. Here are two examples:
The color of a tangible object is the result of pigments or molecular coloring agents. For example, the color of a red apple (in the illustration at the left) is the result of molecular coloring agents on the surface of the apple. Also, a painting of a red apple is the result of red pigments used to create the image. The colors of objects viewed on a television set or on a computer monitor are the result of colored light (in the illustration at the right). If you're not familiar with how colors are created by light, look at your monitor or television screen close up. Put your eye right up against the screen. A small magnifying glass might help. This is what you will see: A simplified way to explain it is that the color of a red apple on a computer or television is created by photons of red light that are transmitted within the electronic system.
It's also important to understand the concept of "primary" colors. The fundamental rule is that there are three colors that cannot be made by mixing other colors together. These three, red, blue, and yellow, are known as the primary colors.
Now that we've described two different categories of colors (pigment and light-generated) and have a definition of primary colors, the answer to whether black and white are colors can be answered.
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