Chapter 5 Flashcards
Visible spectrum
The portion of the electromagnetic spectrum in the range of about 400 to about 700 nm; within this range, people with normal vision perceive differences in wavelength as differences in color.
Color vision
The ability to see differences between lights of different wavelengths
Spectral power distribution
The intensity of a light at each wavelength in the visible spectrum
Heterochromatic light
Light that consists of more than one wavelength
Monochromatic light
Light that consists of only one wavelength
Achromatic light
Light containing wavelengths from across the visible spectrum, with no really dominant wavelengths; perceived more or less colorless
Spectral reflectance
The proportion of light that a surface reflects at each wavelength
Hue
The quality usually referred to as “color” that is, blue, green, yellow, red, and so on; the perceptual characteristic most closely associated with the wavelength of light
Saturation
The vividness of a hue
Color circle
The 2-D depiction in which hue varies around the circumference and saturation varies along any radius
Color Solid
A 3-D depiction in which hue varies around the circumference, saturation varies along any radius, and brightness varies vertically
Subtractive color mixture
A mixture of different-colored substances; called “subtractive” because the light reflected from he mixture has certain wavelengths subtracted by each substance in the mixture
Additive color mixture
A mixture of different-colored lights; called “additive” because the perceived color of the mixture is the result of adding together all the wavelengths in all the lights in the mixture
Complementary colors
Pairs of colors that when combined in equal proportion, are perceived as a shade of gray
Primary colors
Any three colors that can be combined in different proportions to produce a range of colors
