Newton's color wheel is an abstract illustrative organization of color shades in a circle that shows the relationship between primary colors, as well as secondary, tertiary, and so on.
Color wheel
Some sources use the terms color wheel and color wheel as interchangeable. Both concepts can be more common in certain areas, for example, the name "color wheel" is used for mechanical rotating devices. There are other related concepts: a color disk, color charts, and colors. The location is selected in accordance with the wavelengths of light.
The first color circle arose almost simultaneously with the early mystical theories of color. This was reflected in the writings of famous mystics and physicists-researchers of the XVII-XX centuries. Along with Newton were Goethe, Itten, Mansell, Field and others. Mystical multi-colored circles found their practical application primarily in painting. Newton’s color wheel (the photo of which is posted in the article) is currently an important basic tool for calorics.
Isaac Newton: Systematization of the Color Circle
The arrangement of spectral colors in the circle was done by Sir Isaac Newton, according to the calculations of which the resulting color depends on the specific gravity, finding the barycenter and interpretation of the radial distance (from the center of the circle to the center of gravity). Thus, Newton's color wheel is the forerunner of the modern chart.
Color story
The psychophysical theory of the color wheel dates back to the early color triangle of Thomas Young, whose work was later expanded by James Maxwell and Hermann von Helmholtz. The latter have suggested that the eye contains receptors that respond to three different primary sensations called light spectra. As Maxwell showed, all shades, but not all colors, can be created from three main ones - red, green and blue, if they are mixed in the right proportions.
Color schemes
Logical color combinations are used for a variety of media. For example, using a white background with black text is an example of a common default color scheme in web design. The most commonly used are two colors that look good together. These patterns are used to create style and appeal, and also cause an aesthetic sense of compatibility.
More advanced designs include several colors in combination, usually based around a single color, for example, text with colors such as red, yellow, orange and light blue, located together on a black background in a magazine article. Schemes can also contain different shades of the same color, ranging from very light (almost white) to very dark.
Newton and color spectrum
Newton's color wheel is a convenient way to add additives to mix the properties of colors, the main of which are called complementary and are located opposite each other. The order of their placement is directly related to the wavelength of the corresponding spectra. In the late 1660s, Newton began experimenting with a light phenomenon .
At that time, it was believed that light is the opposite of darkness. Our modern understanding of light and color begins with Isaac Newton (1642-1726) and the series of experiments that he publishes in 1672. He is the first to recognize the rainbow - with the help of a prism he refracted white light, which, in turn, shone with iridescent shades.
Optical contrast
The famous circular arrangement of spectral colors appeared in 1704 in England. Newton's original color wheel includes red, orange, yellow, green, cyan blue, ultramarine blue, purple blue. Artists were fascinated by the visual demonstration provided by Isaac Newton. The color wheel is his most useful idea for painters, which consisted in the conceptual arrangement of flowers around a circle. Such a diagram has become a model for many color systems of the 18th-19th centuries. Many designers have adopted this discovery to create an attractive palette of various shades.
Classification
The main colors are blue, red and yellow. The corresponding secondary ones are green, orange and purple (or lilac). Tertiary colors formed by mixing primary with secondary include combinations of green-yellow, yellow-orange, orange-red, red-violet, violet-blue and blue-green.
One of the modern classifications used by designers implies the following color division:
- Light and pastel colors that visually increase the space.
- Dark and intense colors that create comfort, but at the same time reduce the room.
- Cold shades (blue, green, purple), which are responsible for creating a calm and relaxing atmosphere.
- Warm colors: they include yellow, red and orange shades. They bring sunshine and a touch of fun to the interior.