Color Questions---What is White? What is Black?

[Tigger&Belle]

OK, I'm getting very confused. My 6yo and I are discussing colors--this is a normal discussion in our household...

He says that white is the absence of color. Is that true? What is black? Like a lot of things--speak slowly and use small words--for my sake, not his.

I want to say that one is the absence of color and one is all the colors combined, but I could totally be remembering wrong. I've looked up the definition and they loose me when they start talking about the "achromatic color value", etc. Yikes!

 

[Sparx]

white is all colors mixed together. Black is the absesence of color. True black can not be seen, you can only see the outline of it.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

white is all colors mixed together. Black is the absesence of color. True black can not be seen, you can only see the outline of it.

I was thinking this was it since I remembered that it is the opposite of what it would seem. I'll have to break it to my 6yo--he will be crushed. (afterall, he knows it all!).

 

[luvmydogs]

Moo.

Aaaaack! Sorry, T&B--wrong thread!

 

[KarenAylwood]

When explaining the "white is all colors combined" thing, use the idea of white light. Normal white light is broken up into all the colors of the rainbow when using a prism. (One of my favorite little facts of life I learned through Pollyanna )

 

[laurie31]

white is all colors mixed together. Black is the absesence of color. True black can not be seen, you can only see the outline of it.

This is true for light, but I don't think it applies to pigments...wher red, yellow and blue are primary colors. For light, red. blue and green are primary.

Laurie, muddying the waters

 

[Sparx]

This is true for light, but I don't think it applies to pigments...wher red, yellow and blue are primary colors. For light, red. blue and green are primary.

Laurie, muddying the waters

But in essence, the pigment that is seen by humans is made of light, isn't it?

shelby-further muddying the water.

 

[princess pooh]

Moo.

I don't know why that cracked me up! I must be overtired

I always thought that white is the absence of colour but I guess I was wrong. The stuff you learn on the dis!

 

[luvmydogs]

I don't know why that cracked me up! I must be overtired

Tigger&Belle and I share in the eternal struggle of vegetarianism vs. the allure of leather goods. I'm feeling a bit Percocet-induced silly tonight, too--hence the "Moo."

P.S. You're a beautiful bride!

 

[laurie31]

But in essence, the pigment that is seen by humans is made of light, isn't it?

shelby-further muddying the water.

Ahhhh...this is a good point We see the color of an object as the color of lightwaves it reflects. So...this means...that now I'm really confused -LOL

Laurie

 

[Tigger&Belle]

Moo.

Aaaaack! Sorry, T&B--wrong thread!

And I don't even have a bit of leather on tonight (I live in my slippers) and I didn't even once sit on my leather van seats today.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

Ahhhh...this is a good point We see the color of an object as the color of lightwaves it reflects. So...this means...that now I'm really confused -LOL

Laurie

If I was confused before I'm totally befuddled now! Maybe trying to figure this out when I have a headache was not such a good idea!

 

[ChristmasElf]

Actually in art class, we were taught that white and black are NOT colors. They are volumes.
red, yellow and blue are primary colors
orange,green and purple are secondary colors
the color brown is acheived by mixing orange and green together.

Neither black nor white can be made with other colors, you could mix several colors together and geta muddy looking mess, but it would not be black.

 

[Aidensmom]

When it comes to the refraction of light, white is all color, black is the absence of color. When it comes to pigment, mixing all primary colors (or mixing any two colors which are opposites on the color wheel - blue and orange, red and green, or purple (violet) and yellow) you get brown. The absence of color in the case of pigments is a blank piece of paper.

 

[mtblujeans]

In high school art I was taught that white is the absense of color and black is all the colors of the spectrum combined.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

In high school art I was taught that white is the absense of color and black is all the colors of the spectrum combined.

That's what my 6yo is insisting on and was shocked when I told him what Sparx said. He kept asking me if I was reading the DIS..."are you REALLY reading the DIS?".

 

[tmt martins]

When it comes to the refraction of light, white is all color, black is the absence of color. When it comes to pigment, mixing all primary colors (or mixing any two colors which are opposites on the color wheel - blue and orange, red and green, or purple (violet) and yellow) you get brown. The absence of color in the case of pigments is a blank piece of paper.

This is as a correct statement that has been posted .As I work on production Color copier/printers I have to know about the mix of pigments and the refraction of light (scanners) .

2main types of mix RGB red green blue and the better CYMK cyan yellow magentta black .Yes you can mix CYM and get a good black. but not a RGB that comes out muddy.

 

[ImarriedGrumpy]

This is what I remember from a Bill Nye the Science Guy episode: (remember that show? very funny...)

When we see white, it means that all of the light is being "bounced back" - none absorbed. When we see black, the light is being absorbed. I know it is confusing, but when we see certain colors like red or blue, it means that some of the light in the spectrum is being bounced back and some is being absorbed. (there's big words like "reflection" and "refraction" that come in here...) A prism (like in Pollyanna) splits the light spectrum into each of the individual wave lengths so we can see all of the colors contained in the white light. So it isn't so much that black is "all of the colors combined" but rather that it just doesn't reflect back any of the wave lengths in the spectrum - it absorbs them all. White bounces back the entire spectrum.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

This is what I remember from a Bill Nye the Science Guy episode: (remember that show? very funny...)

First of all, I think that we have the same husband.

After reading your post I remembered that we have a Magic School Bus book about color--maybe that will help explain it.

And f course when it comes to whether or not something is considered a "color", it also depends on the context. If I tell my son to wear a white or black shirt, I most certainly am thinking color.