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Black
Black is the shade of objects that do not reflect light in any part of the
visible spectrum.
Scientifically black is not a hue (color); a black object absorbs all the
colors of the visible spectrum and reflects none of them, this is sometimes
confused with black being called 'a mixture of all colors' but that is not
the case. In fact an object emitting or reflecting all colors would be
white. Sometimes black is described as an "achromatic color"; in practice
black can be considered a color, e.g., the black cat or black paint.
Color or light in science
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
exhaustive combination of multiple colors of pigment. See also Primary
colors
† various CMYK combinations c m y k
0% 0% 0% 100% (canonical)
100% 100% 100% 0% (ideal inks, theoretical only)
100% 100% 100% 100% (registration black)
In physics, a black body is a perfect absorber of light, but by a rule
derived by Einstein it is also, when heated, the best emitter. Thus, the
best radiative cooling, out of sunlight, is by using black paint, though it
is important that it be black (a nearly perfect absorber) in the infrared as
well.
In elementary science far Ultraviolet light is called "black light" because,
unseen (per se), it causes many minerals and other substances to fluoresce.
Usage, symbolism, colloquial expressions
Neutral symbolism
* The term "black" is often used in the West to denote race for persons
whose skin color ranges from light to darker shades of brown. For a
discussion of usage, see the main entry at Black (people) and "Color"
terminology for race.
* In arguments, things can be black-and-white, meaning that the issue at
hand is dichotomized. However, this dualism is fraught with danger, as one
may assign the colors "black and white" to bad and good, respectively. Also,
few arguments have only two opposing sides.
* Black frequently symbolizes ambiguity, secrecy, and the unknown.
o A black box is any device whose internal workings are unknown or
inexplicable.
o A black project is a secretive project, like Enigma Decryption, other
classified military programs or operations, Narcotics, or police sting
operations.
o The blackshirts were Italian Fascist militias (negative for anti-fascists,
but presumably positive for the original fascists themselves)
o Some organizations are called "black" when they keep a low profile, like
Sociétés Anonymes and secret societies.
* From 1988 until his death in the 2001 Daytona 500, NASCAR driver Dale
Earnhardt was famous for driving a black Chevrolet.
* The term "black hole" is applied to collapsed stars. This term is
metaphorical in the extreme, because few properties of black objects or
black voids apply to black holes. However, light emitted within a black
hole's event horizon cannot escape, hence a black hole cannot be directly
observed.
* The national rugby team of New Zealand is called the All Blacks, in
reference to their black outfits, and the color is also shared by other New
Zealand national teams such as the Black Caps (cricket) and the Kiwis (rugby
league).
* Association football (soccer) referees traditionally wear all-black
uniforms, however nowadays other uniform colors may also be worn.
* In auto racing, a black flag signals a certain driver to go into the pits.
* Black is used for anarchist symbolism, sometimes split in diagonal with
other colors for further symbolism. The plain black flag is explained in
various ways, sometimes as an anti-flag or a non-flag. Wearing black
clothing is also sometimes an anarchist tactic during demonstrations, with a
practical benefit of not attracting attention and making later
identification of a subject difficult. This strategy referred to as a black
bloc.
* Black metal is a style of music including bands such as Darkthrone and
Mayhem (naturally, fans or artists relating to the genre embrace the term
whereas detractors use it negatively).
* In Portuguese politics, black is the party color of the Left Bloc. (é mais
o vermelho..)
* In ancient China, black was the symbol of North and Water, one of the main
five colors. There is no negative or positive meaning associated with it.
* A polished black mirror is used for scrying, and is thought to help see
into the paranormal world without interference or distraction.
* Members of the modern Goth subculture dress predominantly in black.
* Many performers of classical or other "serious" art music dress in
all-black clothes for a concert or recital.
* A large number of teams have uniforms designed with black colors - many
feeling the color sometimes imparts a psychological advantage in its
wearers. Among the more famous (or infamous) include Oakland Raiders and
Pittsburgh Steelers of the NFL, the San Antonio Spurs and Miami Heat of the
NBA, and Inter Milan of the Serie A of the Italian soccer leagues.
* "Black Light Machine" is a song off of the Neo-progressive rock band
Frost's only album, Milliontown.
Positive symbolism
* In the Maasai tribes of Kenya and Tanzania, the color black is associated
with rain clouds, becoming a symbol of life and prosperity.
* Black was also the color of the Arab dynasty of Abbasid caliphs, and
that's why black is frequently used in flags of Arab-Muslim countries
* In Western fashion, black is considered stylish, sexy, and powerful. This
seems to be for reasons of contrast with the light skin (conversely, white
t-shirts or suits are sometimes stylish among dark-skinned people.)
o The colloquialism "the new black" is a reference to the latest trend or
fad, on the basis that black is always fashionable.
* Black can also be seen as the color of prestige: for example, limousines
are usually in black, and black tuxedos are worn at black tie functions.
* The band AC/DC sang "Back in Black", a song about being successful and
ambitious once again.
* Black is seen as a color of seriousness and authority.
* In the long-running Japanese tokusatsu TV series Super Sentai (and its
American counterpart, Power Rangers), black is one of the colors worn by a
Super Sentai or Power Ranger member. In both series, along with the green
rangers, the are often seen as the "macho" rangers and are typically male.
They are interchangeable with green, and in Super Sentai, black is usually
second-in-command.
o Many priests of the older religious denominations traditionally wear
black.
o Lawyers and judges often wear black robes, as do university graduates (see
Academic dress).
o The beltzak ("blacks" after their uniform) are the riot control units of
the Basque Autonomous Police
* Traditionally, Police vehicles ("Panda cars") were in black and white.
* Black Watch is the senior Highland Regiment of the British Army.
* To say one's accounts are "in the black" is used to mean that one is free
of debt.
o (Being "in the red" is to be in debt—in traditional bookkeeping, negative
amounts, such as costs, were printed in red ink, and positive amounts, like
revenues, were printed in black ink, so that if "the bottom line" is printed
in black, the firm is profiting.)
* Cathar Perfects wore black (Cathars viewed black as a color of
perfection).
* In Rastafari culture, amongst others, black is seen as beautiful.
* In Japanese culture, kuro (black) is a symbol of nobility, age, and
experience, where it contrasts with shiro (white), which symbolizes serfdom,
youth, and naiveté. This has resulted in many martial arts as the black belt
being one of the first senior ranks called dan.
Negative symbolism
Colloquially, black is sometimes used with a negative connotation. The
reasons for this are various, but the most widely accepted explanations are
that night is experienced by humans as negative and dangerous. A secondary
reason is that stains are most visible as dark additions to pale materials.
In traditional class-based Western cultures "pale" skin indicated genteel
domestic or intellectual indoor-work as opposed to rough outdoor labor in
the fields. Aspects of this black/white opposition are not unique to the
West, as, for example in the Indian varna system and in Japanese Geisha
makeup. African, Afro-Caribbean and African-American writers such as Frantz
Fanon, Langston Hughes, Maya Angelou, and Ralph Ellison in particular
identify a number of negative symbolisms surrounding the word "black",
arguing that the good vs. bad dualism associated with white and black
provide prejudiced connotations to "Color" terminology for race.
* A "black day" (or week or month), in these cultures, would refer to a sad
or tragic time. The Romans already marked fasti days with white stones and
nefasti days with black.
o E.g., Black Tuesday, stock market crash on October 29, 1929 which is the
start of the Great Depression.
o Black Thursday, stock market downturn on October 24, 1929
o Black Monday, stock market crash on October 19, 1987.
o the Black September in Jordan refers to a month in which thousands were
killed.
o Black July killing of the Tamil population by the Sinhalese government
o Black Spring (Printemps noir) refers to the events of spring 2001 in the
Berber region of Kabylia (Algeria), when the police shot and killed more
than 100 people.
o Black Wednesday caused Britain to pull out of the European Exchange Rate
Mechanism.
o Black Friday, various tragic events. (Exception: See Black Friday
(shopping).)
* Many poems and songs use the word black negatively (e.g. "Paint It Black"
(Rolling Stones), "Baby's In Black" (Beatles), "Black Eyed Dog" (Nick
Drake), " Fade to Black" (Metallica, Dire Straits, Zeromancer).
* In English heraldry, black means darkness, doubt, ignorance, and
uncertainty. (The American Girls Handy Book, p. 370)
* Black is often a color of mourning in Western societies. Historically,
widows and widowers were often expected to wear black. Across much of
Africa, white is a color of mourning and is worn during funerals.
* Black comedy is a form of comedy dealing with morbid and serious topics.
* Black magic is an evil form of magic, often connected with death.
* A blacklist is a list of undesirable persons or entities (to be placed on
the list is said to be "blacklisted".
* Blackball: to blackball someone is to block their entry into a some club
or some such institution. It comes from an old English practice in which
current members of a club or the like would vote on the admission of a
candidate by each secretly placing a white or black ball in a hat. If upon
the completion of voting, there was even one black ball amongst the white,
the candidate would be denied membership, and he would never know who had
"blackballed" him.
* Evil witches are stereotypically dressed in black and good fairies in
white. Melodrama villains are dressed in black and heroines in white
dresses. In many Hollywood Westerns, bad cowboys wear black hats while the
good ones wear white. Funeral dress is black, wedding gowns are white.
* In computer security, a blackhat is an attacker with evil intentions,
while a whitehat bears no such ill will. (This is derived from the Western
convention.)
* The black market is used to denote the trade of illegal goods, or
alternatively the illegal trade of otherwise legal items at considerably
higher prices.
* Blackmail is the act of threatening to reveal information about a person
unless the threatened party fulfills certain demands. This information is
usually of an embarrassing or socially damaging nature. Ordinarily, such a
threat is illegal.
* The black sheep of the family is the ne'er-do-well.
* The infamous "black hole of Calcutta."
* A black mood is a bad one (e.g. Winston Churchill's depression, which he
called "my black dog").[1]
* A black cat is superstitiously considered bad luck and linked with death
in the U.S., however in the UK a black cat is considered good luck.
* If you sink the black eight-ball in billiards before all others are out of
play, you lose (The ball with which you sink all others is the white cue
ball).
* A black mark against you is a bad thing.
* A black-hearted person is mean and unloving.
* Black propaganda is the use of known falsehoods, partial truths, or
masquerades in propaganda to confuse an opponent.
* Black Death, also known as the Black Plague, was a pandemic in Europe
which killed tens of millions of people.
Black pigments
* Carbon black
* Ivory black
* Ebony
* Charcoal black
References
1. ^ Hal Haralson. Dancing with the Black Dog. christianethicstoday.com.
Retrieved on 2006-11-10.
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