In our colorful world Colors numerous functions – and this is not new. Even Goethe attached greater importance to his work "Zur Farbenlehre" (published in 1810) than to his work as a poet. In 1809, the English ophthalmologist and physicist Thomas Young (1773-1829) put forward the thesis that all spectral colors can be created by mixing three primary colors. At that time, however, there was no talk of RGB. It took the Scottish physicist James Clerk Maxwell (1831-1879) more than 50 years to prove this claim. In 1861, he produced the first color photograph and thus provided the proof for the theory of the additive color mixing.
The term RGB refers to a color space that reproduces the colors visible to humans by additive mixing of the three primary colors. According to these three colors Rot, Ggreen and Blukewarm – the RGB color space was then also named.
Colors give Orientation, make things appear in a special light and appeal to the senses. Strictly speaking, color is nothing else: a sensory impression of the light that can be perceived by humans. It is electromagnetic radiation in the range of the Wavelengths from 380 (violet) to 760 nanometers (red). With the different techniques for image representation, different principles have also been established for representing colors visually. Since the development of color displays, the RGB color model in particular has had fundamental importance for image reproduction on electronic output devices. The most important information about the RGB colors can be found in our guidebook.
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How the RGB color model works?
RGB colors are composed of Three primary colors to which the light-sensitive cones in the human eye react most sensitively: Red, Green and Blue. Here the color black is the basis for this color model. All colors used appear in contrast to the basic color black. Since RGB colors are made up of three primary colors, this leads to the term RGB additive color mixing. Three luminous colors are put together, thus added, to create the color to be perceived. In a computer monitor, for example, picture elements (pixels) are combined to form an overall image. Each individual pixel consists of subpixels in the RGB colors, which are then perceived as the additively mixed color of the pixel.
How many colors are there in the RGB color space??
The three Primary colors red, green and blue (also called color channel) can each take the strengths from 0 to 255, so there are a total of 256 gradations per channel. Multiplying all available color shades per channel results in 256 3 resp. 16.777.216 color combinations. One often finds the specification: 16.7 million colors.
The basic colors of the RGB color model and some exemplary color mixtures according to the additive method – imaginable as 3 spotlights with the basic colors RGB, whose illuminated areas are partially superimposed on each other. If all colors are "off (= 0), only black remains.
So for example in the Web all these colors with the RGB-, but also with Hexadecimal values specify. Often both are used in Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) to achieve color consistency in different browsers.
This code example is the direct indication of how RGB colors on the web are used. A whole series of these colors carries web-usable Color names, which can also be used in CSS (#FF00FF is fuchsia). You can find various tables for this on the Internet.
A section of the RGB color space. At the bar on the right the strength of the selected color can be changed with a slider. The illustration is an enlarged section of the color setting in the word processing program Microsoft Word.
The graphic formats for the representation of pictures and graphics on the Internet are all based on RGB colors, except for the GIF format. In image editing software such as Photoshop or also in free image editing programs, an RGB mode can also be used for color reproduction. And also the many tools for image compression output RGB to use the compressed images for web pages with good performance.
When RGB and when CMYK? The reproduction on modern screens of any kind and size is based on the RGB-Color model. CMYK colors are used whenever something colorful is to be physically printed out.
RGB and CMYK – is that all??
Of course not. There are many different concepts for Color spaces. Their differences lie in the way colors are reproduced. Alternative color space systems include, for example:
CIE 1931
CIE is the so-called norm valence system from the year 1931. It is based on averaged measured values from standard observers. CIE 1964 describes the human field of view on an A4 sheet from 30 centimeters viewing distance. Further developments and modifications are CIELUC, CIELAB and CIEUVW.
RGB with extensions
The color space sRGB is a further development of RGB for the Internet by various companies and consortia. It is used in open source programs and in the SVG image format. The color space Adobe RGB was developed by the company of the same name to reproduce colors of a CMYK printer on a PC monitor. There are long lists of RGB color spaces that are assigned to very specific display tasks. Finally, every expert user can create his own color space.
Hue with saturation
HSV or HSB use for color description the hue (Hue: H), the saturation (Saturation: S) and a value for the brightness (Value: V or Brightness: B). This color space is closer to the natural color perception. To this group belong also HSL and HSI. The letter L stands for luminance, the I for intensity. HSL is also in CSS usable.
Luminance with chromaticity
These color spaces are called YIQ, YUV, YDbDr, YPbPr or YCbCr used for color television standards (NTSC, PAL, SECAM). two color and one brightness value are stored. Here also xvYCC a newer, extended color space for digital video signals.
In the following, we have summarized the most important questions and answers on the subject for you again.
Definition: RGB
The term RGB describes a color space that reproduces the colors visible to humans by additive mixing of the three primary colors. The RGB color space was then also named after these three colors – red, green and blue.
How the RGB color model works?
RGB colors are composed of three basic colors to which the light-sensitive cones in the human eye are most sensitive: Red, Green and Blue. The color black is the basis for this color model. All the colors used appear in contrast with that basic color black. Since RGB colors are composed of three basic colors, this leads to the term additive color mixing.
How many colors are there in the RGB color space?
The three basic colors red, green and blue (also called color channel) can each take the strengths from 0 to 255, so there are a total of 256 gradations per channel. Multiplying all the available color shades per channel gives 16.777.216 color combinations.