Morgana wrote: When there is a lack of matter and properties there is an absence of all color as well; absence of color is white. Black is the inclusion of all colors.

I'm not going to join the discussion but I'll be a bit off topic and say that the absence of color is black and the inclusion of all colors is white. "Light appears colorless or white. Sunlight is white light that is composed of all the colors of the spectrum. A rainbow is proof. You can't see the colors of sunlight except when atmospheric conditions bend the light rays and create a rainbow. You can also use a prism to demonstrate this. The sum of all the colors of light add up to white. This is additive color theory." Anyway I guess there are different theories depending if you're talking about it as if it's light spectrum or if it's molecular/chemistry, here's an informative website about that: http://www.colormatters.com/color-and-d ... ite-colors

YEAH, I CAN BE DARK. ACTUALLY A LOT DARKER THAN THIS, THIS IS ME BEING FLUFFY. :lol:

ALL JUST AMUSING TO THINK ABOUT, YOU'LL NEVER GET THE ANSWER UNTIL YOU ACTUALLY CROAK.

Turtlefae wrote:

Morgana wrote: When there is a lack of matter and properties there is an absence of all color as well; absence of color is white. Black is the inclusion of all colors.

I'm not going to join the discussion but I'll be a bit off topic and say that the absence of color is black and the inclusion of all colors is white. "Light appears colorless or white. Sunlight is white light that is composed of all the colors of the spectrum. A rainbow is proof. You can't see the colors of sunlight except when atmospheric conditions bend the light rays and create a rainbow. You can also use a prism to demonstrate this. The sum of all the colors of light add up to white. This is additive color theory." Anyway I guess there are different theories depending if you're talking about it as if it's light spectrum or if it's molecular/chemistry, here's an informative website about that: http://www.colormatters.com/color-and-d ... ite-colors

Hi Turtlefae! Yes, this is a very interesting topic :lol: I am old school...so for me, the first theory of color, which is what we learn when we paint....is what I have known to be valid and still holds, technically. However, it does become interesting when we add all the other elements that add up to a color....then, well, i guess chemistry comes into play and things change. My comments were hypothetical analogies Like Ash stated above......I can't croak. :lol: Thanks for the link! I copy pasted the somewhat summarized version here, if anyone is interested. At the end, it states that technically black is a color white is not. There IS a grey area...of course there is. There is always a grey area. These ideas are not set in stone and not meant to, just adding to hypothetical ponderings.

The answers:
1. Black is a color. (Chemists will confirm this!)

paint


Explanation:
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. You won't get a jet black, but the point will be clear. The history of black pigments includes charcoal, iron metals, and other chemicals as the source of black paints.
Resource: History of Pigments

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.


2. White is not a color.
... but .... in some cases you could say that white is a color.


The grey area:

Technically, pure white is the absence of color. In other words, you can't mix colors to create white. Therefore, white is the absence of color in the strictest sense of the definition.

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. It's worth noting that white paper is made by bleaching tree bark (paper pulp). Therefore, you could say that white is a color in the context of pigment chemistry.

Luminoire, I'll take a look at those documentaries.

Morgana, but wouldn't the absence of color be transparent?

As far as light goes color is about reflection. When we see the color green the object absorbs all the other colors and reflects the green. so if something is black it either absorbs or reflects all the light in the visible spectrum I don't remember which, and white is the opposite.

fire083 wrote:As far as light goes color is about reflection. When we see the color green the object absorbs all the other colors and reflects the green. so if something is black it either absorbs or reflects all the light in the visible spectrum I don't remember which, and white is the opposite.

there is a difference between reflecting /absorbing and emitting light ... if something is black it absorbs all the light in the visible spectrum ... white reflects all the light... the computer screen you are looking at emits light in various combinations of red, green , and blue... if all three colors in a pixel are lit full brightness you see white... put a single drop of water on the screen to use as a lens and you will see the individual colors that make white
put a drop of water on this rainbow to see the difference

I understand these concepts, as well color being perceptions in our mind being based upon the vibrational fields of a given object. My question to Morgana was because she stated that white was not a color. (Five years ago I would have said 'nu-uh' but I've learned to ask questions you know.)

White is the combination or essence of all colours.
The colours of the rainbow in total sum up to white.
A prisma breaks up white light into the colours of the rainbow, the visible light spectrum.
That´s all and that´s truth. Cosmic order.
(So don´t be fooled by pink in the green heart chakra what some esoterics might suggest)

Actually, WHITE is the absence of color. LIGHT is made up of colors that can be refracted... but what has ANY of that to do with dark matter, which is a theory about stuff we assume is there because of its effects on gravity, but which we cannot see at all and therefore must not only not have light, but also no color... :wtf:

We can have this discussion for centuries...this discussion HAS been going on for centuries already....my initial point of view was from a painter's vantage point. Combine all primary colors in paint format and see what you get....please try it....you get black. Not white, but black. For painter, there is no way to combine any sort of color and get white. These are tangible, physical attributes. I can argue the contrary as well, in terms of reflection and light, but these results are less tangible (not less important, but they are not in regards to physical properties) because they depend on the viewer not necessarily the physical properties of an object.....but it gets us no where because that was not the point. The point was in terms of MATTER. In terms of matter it needs to have volume....matter needs to have some type of measurement for it to exist. My point was, that if "souls" were not black but white, then it cannot be measured because there is no matter, there is no physical property.... because for it to be matter it needs to have substance. For it to have measurable substance it should have some sort of "color"..Lack of color, lack of substance, NO MATTER. That was a completely hypothetical analogy. A hypothetical analogy that is just an illusion, a creation of a painter. It was not meant for an academic or scientific evaluation, just a hypothetical pondering from a creator of illusion, a painter. I paint, I am also an architect....a creator of space and volume...I am not a scientist. A scientist would take into consideration light and reflection etc....and get where we are today. With NO LAW OF COLOR. There is no law. There are only theories. Theories can be argued. When we enter the realm of perception, which is where light comes in, the possibilities are endless......light and reflection are in relation to the viewer...we all know perception is not tangible....our perception depends on so many variables it becomes difficult to measure, not impossible, but difficult. My ponderings were not even theory but hypothetical, which can also be questioned for ages. I thank you all for interest in color theory, but I suggest we continue with another aspect of the amazing topic of this thread.
Blessings,
M.