Why does RGB make white?
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RGB (Red, Green, Blue) creates the color white by combining all three primary colors at full intensity. This is due to how light works in the additive color model, which RGB follows.
Understanding the Additive Color Model:
The additive color model suggests that colors are created by adding different wavelengths (or colors) of light together. In this model:
- Red, Green, and Blue are the primary colors of light.
- When you combine light from all three colors at full intensity, the result is white light.
Why does this happen?
- Light wavelengths from the red, green, and blue parts of the spectrum, when combined, blend together to form white light.
- This process is similar to how light works in the real world. For instance, sunlight (which is white) is made up of a mixture of all visible wavelengths (colors). When combined at full intensity, they produce white light.
In the RGB system:
- Full red is RGB(255, 0, 0),
- Full green is RGB(0, 255, 0),
- Full blue is RGB(0, 0, 255).
When you combine all three at their highest values (RGB(255, 255, 255)), they create white.
Why Does It Work Like This?
The reason RGB creates white is rooted in how our eyes and brain perceive light:
- Our eyes have three types of color receptors (cones) that are sensitive to red, green, and blue light.
- These receptors combine the signals they receive to create a perception of full spectrum light (white) when all three colors are present at equal intensity.
In Contrast:
In the subtractive color model (used in printing with colors like cyan, magenta, yellow), white is the absence of pigment, and black is the result of mixing all the colors. However, RGB operates differently because it's based on light rather than pigment.
Conclusion:
RGB makes white when all three primary colors (Red, Green, and Blue) are at full intensity, because the additive nature of the RGB color model results in the blending of light to form the full spectrum of visible light, which is perceived as white by the human eye.
