Color Theory

Additive Color Theory

Perception of light combinations where maximum contribution of Red Green and Blue equals white light.

Primary Colors of Light

Red Green and Blue which combine in different intensities to create all other visible colors.

Secondary Colors of Light

Yellow Cyan and Magenta which are created by combining equal amounts of two primary light colors.

Electron Gun

Device inside display monitors that fires electrons at colored phosphors to emit light proportional to a pixel brightness value.

Brightness Value

Numerical value stored in a pixel that dictates the intensity of light emitted by a monitor display channel.

True Color Composite

Image display where red green and blue spectral bands are assigned to the matching red green and blue display channels.

False Color Composite

Image display where non visible spectral bands such as near infrared are assigned to visible display channels.

Standard False Color Composite

Specific band combination where near infrared is assigned to red red is assigned to green and green is assigned to blue causing healthy vegetation to appear bright red.

Spectral Reflectance Curve

Graph showing the percentage of electromagnetic radiation reflected by a material across different wavelengths.

Subtractive Color Theory

System operating on absorbed light where pigments dyes or filters subtract wavelengths and maximum combination yields black.

Cyan Magenta Yellow

Primary subtractive colors used in printing and physical pigments.

Band Pass Filter

Optical device that allows only a specific range of electromagnetic wavelengths to pass through to a sensor.