White
\n
White is a
color (more accurately it contains all the colors of the
spectrum and is sometimes described as an achromatic color—
black is the absence of color) that has high brightness but zero
hue. The impression of white
light can be created by mixing (via a process called "additive mixing") appropriate intensities of the primary color
spectrum:
red,
green and
blue, but it must be noted that the illumination provided by this technique has significant differences from that produced by incandescence (see below).
Paint
\nIn painting, white can be created by reflecting ambient light from a white pigment. White when mixed with black produces gray.
White light
\nUntil Newton's work became accepted, most scientists believed that white was the fundamental color of light; and that other colors were formed only by adding something to light. Newton demonstrated that white was formed by combining the other colors.
In the science of lighting, there is a continuum of colors of light that can be called "white". One set of colors that deserve this description are the colors emitted, via the process called incandescence, by a black body at various relatively-high temperatures. For example, the color of a black body at a temperature of 2848 kelvins matches that produced by domestic incandescent light bulbs. It is said that "the color temperature of such a light bulb is 2848 K". The white light used in theatre illumination has a color temperature of about 3200 K. Daylight has a nominal color temperature of 5400 K (called equal energy white), but can vary from a cool red up to a bluish 25,000 K. Not all black body radiation can be considered white light: the background radiation of the universe, to name an extreme example, is only a few kelvins and is quite invisible.
Standard whites
\nStandard whites are often defined with reference to the International Commission on Illumination's (CIE's) chromaticity diagram. These are the D series of standard illuminants. Illuminant D65, originally corresponding to a color temperature of 6,500 K, is taken to represent standard daylight.
Computers
\nComputer displays often have a color temperature control, allowing the user to select the color temperature (usually from a small set of fixed values) of the light emitted when the computer produces the electrical signal corresponding to "white". The RGB coordinates of white are 255 255 255.
Usage, symbolism, colloquial expressions
\n*The term white is often used in the West to denote "race" for so-called Caucasian people, i.e. people of European/West Asian descent with light skin color, whose skin color actually ranges from pink to pale brown, and overlaps with some people that might be classified as "black". For more details, see Whites.
- White noise, in acoustics, is a sibilant sound that is often a nuisance, although it can also be deliberately created for test purposes.
- Whitewash, figuratively, means an attempt to obscure the truth by issuing a blanket of lies. See propaganda.
- Whiteout is a weather condition in which visibility is reduced and surface definition lost in snowy environments.
- In Chinese tradition, white is the color of mourning, death, and ghosts.
- White is the traditional color of bridal dress in both western (European) and Japanese weddings.
- White is often associated with Conservatism (as opposed to Communism), particularly in the years following World War I, with civil wars fought between "Reds" and "Whites", for instance the Civil War in Russia and the Civil War in Finland.
- A white flag is an international sign of either surrender, or truce, i.e., of peaceful intent, typically at time of war.
- The white ribbon is worn by movements denouncing violence against women. It is also worn by some feminists and was a symbol for peace in Quebec, in the beginning of 2003, as part of the popular opposition to war on Iraq.
Color coordinates
\n* RGB:\n** R: 255\n** G: 255\n** B: 255\n* CMYK:\n** C: 0\n** M: 0\n** Y: 0\n** K: 0\n* HSV:\n** H: 0\n** S: 0\n** V: 100
hex triplet:#FFFFFF
White in heraldry
Arthur Charles Fox-Davies has argued that white can be considered a tincture in
heraldry separate from its use to represent
argent, and in fact the labels borne on the arms, crests and supporters of members of the
British Royal Family other than the reigning
sovereign are invariably shown as white.
People whose surname is white
Other definitions
\n* White is also a video game character. See White (video game character).
Category:colors