HueHue, along with saturation and brightness make up the three distinct attributes of color. The terms "red" and "blue" are primarily describing hue - hue is related to wavelength for spectral colors. It is convenient to arrange the saturated hues around a Newton Color Circle. Starting from red and proceeding clockwise around the circle below to blue proceeds from long to shorter wavelengths. However it shows that not all hues can be represented by spectral colors since there is no single wavelength of light which has the magenta hue - it may be produced by an equal mixture of red and blue.
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Index Vision concepts Color vision | ||||
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SaturationSaturation, along with hue and brightness make up the three distinct attributes of color. Pink may be thought of as having the same hue as red but being less saturated. A fully saturated color is one with no mixture of white. A spectral color consisting of only one wavelength is fully saturated, but one can have a fully saturated magenta which is not a spectral color. Quantifying the perception of saturation must take into account the fact that some spectral colors are perceived to be more saturated than others. For example, monochromatic reds and violets are perceived to be more saturated than monochromatic yellows. There are also more perceptably different levels of saturation for some hues - a fact accounted for in the Munsell color system
One of the features of the commercially available Color Wheel is to help visualize the effect of adding white paint or pigment. It makes the color less saturated as shown in the image below. |
Index Vision concepts Color vision | ||||
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BrightnessBrightness, along with saturation and hue make up the three distinct attributes of color. The brightness of a colored surface depends upon the illuminance and upon its reflectivity. Since the perceived brightness is not linearly proportional to the reflectivity, a scale from 0 to 10 is used to represent perceived brightness in color measurement systems like the Munsell system. It is found that equal surfaces with differing spectral characteristics but which emit the same number of lumens will be perceived to be equally bright.
The images above from the commercially available Color Wheel depict 10 levels of brightness for gray or achromatic light. |
Index Vision concepts Color vision | ||
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