- This article is about the color black; for other uses, see Black (disambiguation).
Black is a color with several subtle differences in meaning.
Color or light
Black can be defined as the visual impression experienced in directions from which no visible light reaches the eye. (This makes a contrast with whiteness, the impression of any combination of colors of light that equally stimulates all three types of color-sensitive visual receptors.)
Pigments that absorb light rather than reflect it back to the eye "look black". A black pigment can, however, result from a combination of several pigments that collectively absorb all colors. If appropriate proportions of three primary pigments are mixed, the result reflects so little light as to be called "black".
This provides two superficially opposite but actually complementary descriptions of black. Black is the lack of all colors of light, or an exhausive combination of multiple colors of pigment. See also Primary colors and Primary pigments.
The term black is often used in the West to denote "race" for persons whose skin color actually ranges from pale to dark shades of brown, and overlaps with some people that might be classified as "whites". For a discussion of usage, see the main entry at Blacks.
Usage, symbolism, colloquial expressions In Western societies black is most often used with a negative connotation, with a few notable exceptions. For instance, a "black day" would be used in these cultures to refer to a sad or tragic day. However, to say one's accounts are "in the black" is used to mean that one is free of debt; being "in the red" is to be in debt—because in traditional bookkeeping, negative amounts were printed in red ink (such as losses) and positive amounts (such as profits) were printed in black ink.
In arguments, things can be black or white, or shades of gray, the intensity used as an analogue for things such as truthfulness or right and wrong. (Note that when referring to the intensity of pigment or light, black is always the complete lack of intensity.)
In Western cultures and their colonial offshoots, the color black is often used in painting, film, and literature to evoke a sense of the unknown or of death. In these cultures, the color black is often seen as the color of mourning, though this convention is less strict than in earlier times, when widows and widowers were expected to wear black for a year after the death of their spouses.
However, in Western fashion, black is a color that is noted as being a reliably stylish choice for formal and recreational clothes, especially for social gatherings. The tuxedo is a prime example of this. Additionally, the colloquialism the new black has transitioned from the Western fashion industry into mainstream use, and is a reference to the latest trend or fad.
However, in other cultures, such as the Maasai tribes of Kenya and Tanzania, the color black is associated with rain clouds and is thus a symbol of life and prosperity.
Black is frequently used figuratively for lack of metaphorical light. A Black Project is a project not readily visible, such as government actions kept secret from the public, (such as Enigma Decryption or narcs,) or organizations that keep a low profile, (such as certain Société Anonyme or most secret societies.) Black propaganda is the use of known falsehoods, partial truths, or masquerades in propaganda to confuse an opponent.
The term "black hole" is applied to collapsed stars because it is commonly believed that, like a black object, they neither reflect nor emit light (this is actually false: see Stephen Hawking's research on the matter). (The term is metaphorical in the extreme, because no other properties of black objects or black voids apply to black holes, which more literally could be described as lacking almost all familiar properties, rather than having the property of blackness in place other colorations.)
The national rugby team of New Zealand is called the All Blacks, in reference to their black outfits.
Soccer referees traditionally wear all-black outfits, although nowadays the rules have changed and referees are seen wearing outfits in different colors.
In auto racing, a black flag signals a certain driver to go into the pits.
Black is the colour of the snooker ball which has a 7-point value.
A polished black scrying mirror is used to see into the paranormal world without interference or distractions from the surroundings.
Color coordinates Hex triplet = #000000 RGB (r, g, b) = (0, 0, 0) CMYK (c, m, y, k) = (0, 0, 0, 255) (canonical) = (255, 255, 255, 0) (ideal inks, theoretical only) = (255, 255, 255, 255) (registration black) HSV (h, s, v) = (0*, 0*, 0)
*(or any other value)
See also
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