Spectral color

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A spectral color is a

In color models capable of representing spectral colors,^{[note 1][1]} such as CIELUV, a spectral color has the maximal saturation. In Helmholtz coordinates, this is described as 100% purity.

In dichromatic color spaces

In dichromatic color vision there is no distinction between spectral and non-spectral colors. Their entire gamut can be represented by spectral colors.^{[note 2]}

Spectral color terms

The spectrum is often divided into color terms or names, but aligning boundaries between color terms to a specific wavelength is very subjective.

The first person to decompose white light and name the spectral colors was

In modern divisions of the spectrum,

The table below includes several definitions where the spectral colors have been categorized in color terms. The hue that a given monochromatic light evokes is approximated at the right side of the table.

Extra-spectral colors

Among some of the colors that are not spectral colors are:

• Grayscale (achromatic) colors, such as white, gray, and black.
• Any color obtained by mixing a gray-scale color and another color (either spectral or not), such as
  orange
  and black or gray).
• Violet-red colors, which include colors in the line of purples (such as magenta and rose), and other variations of purple and red.
• Impossible colors, which cannot be seen under normal viewing of light, such as over-saturated colors or colors that are seemingly brighter than white.
• Metallic colors which reflect light by effect.

Notes

References