Gray

From Principles of Applied Arts

Grey or gray (in American English) is a color seen commonly in nature. In pigment, or subtractive color (CMYK), it is created by adding black. In light, or additive color (RGB), it is created by adding equal amounts of R, G, and B, with values below 255. Depending on the color temperature of the light (measured in kelvins of a black body radiator), the human eye can interpret the same object as either grey or some other color, with colder light adding a yellow-orange hue and warmer light adding a blue hue.

Two colors are called complementary colors if grey is produced when two colors are combined. Grey is its own complement.

Contents 1 Usage, symbolism and colloquial expressions 1.1 In fiction 2 Color coordinates 3 Web colors 4 See also

Usage, symbolism and colloquial expressions

• Grey symbolises mediocrity, the background noise.
  • "Grey life", meaning mere existence without much sense or goal.
  • A "grey person" is someone who goes unnoticed, a wallflower.
• In a moral sense grey is either used
  • pejoratively to describe situations that have no clear moral value, or
  • positively to balance an all-black or all-white view (for example, shades of grey = magnitudes of good/bad)
• Grey is associated with autumn, bad weather and sadness.
• Grey has been used to describe the industrialism as it is the color of granite, concrete and other city materials, as opposed to green to describe environmentalism, chlorophyll and plants.
  • Urban camouflage is composed of patches of shades of grey, while country camouflage uses ranges of brown and green.
• Whilst the hair actually becomes white as one ages, it is often misinterpreted as grey (white next to others colors looking comparatively darker), and hence grey is associated with the elderly, and has inspired the name of the Gray Panthers.
• The substance that composes the brain is referred to as "grey matter", and for that reason the color is associated with things intellectual.
• In religion, grey is the color of ashes, and therefore a biblical symbol of mourning and repentance. It can be used during Lent or on special days of fasting and prayer.
• Grey was the color of the Confederate Army uniforms in the American Civil War.
• The "Grey Lady" is the nickname of the New York Times

In fiction

• In Tolkien's works:
  • Gandalf is called the Grey Pilgrim.
  • The Grey Havens
  • The Sindar, or Grey Elves
  • The Grey Hills
• In Michael Ende's Momo, the Men in grey purport to act as a bank of time, while they consume it themselves.
• In The T*Witches series, those of magical power are described as having grey eyes.
• Grey is the color of Dr. Evil, in opposition to Austin Powers' bright colors.

Color coordinates

RGB 

All the grey values in greyscale are solutions of the inequality:

<math> 0 \le ( R = G = B ) \le 255 </math>

CMYK 

All the grey values in greyscale are solutions of the inequality:

<math> 0 \le K \le 255 </math> when <math> C = M = Y = 0 \,</math>.

In theory it is also possible to achieve a greyscale with perfect inks when:

<math> C = M = Y \,</math> and <math> K = 0 \,</math>

HSL 

All the grey values in greyscale fit one of the following three equalities:

<math>S=0</math> or <math>L=0</math> (black) or <math>L=1</math> (white).

HSV 

All the grey values in greyscale are solutions of the inequality:

<math> 0 \le V \le 1 </math> when <math> H = S = 0 \,</math> .

Web colors

There are several shades of grey available for use with HTML and CSS. Oddly, all are spelled with an a except lightgrey: this can cause unexpected errors (this discrepancy is inherited from the X11 color list). Note that some of these colors are not on the greyscale, but have a little saturation.

Name	Sample
lightgrey
gray
darkgray
dimgray
lightslategray
slategray
darkslategray

See also

• List of colors
• Payne's grey
• Davy's grey

Web colors	black	silver	grey	white	red	maroon	purple	fuchsia	green	lime	olive	yellow	orange	blue	navy	teal	aqua