Category Archives: Science

Have you ever seen a purple cow?

• Purple is a colour that is made of the colours red and blue and is typically classified by the hex code #800080 and RGB code (128, 0, 128).
• The word ‘purple’ has its roots in the Greek word ‘porphyra’, the term used for a dye that made this colour.
• Purple is commonly used to symbolise royalty, power, the supernatural, mourning, magic and mystery.
• Natural purple paints have been popularly made from hematite and manganese, while dyes have been made from blackberries, orcein moss and the murex sea-snail.
• Although synthetic purple dyes were available previously, Englishman William Perkin created the first affordable mauve dye in 1850, while in his late teens.

• Eggplants, some cauliflower and beans, irises and other flowers, grapes, sea urchins, lavender, blackberries, and distant mountains at dawn and dusk are sometimes coloured purple.
• The sole country to use the colour purple in their flag is Dominica, although the colour is used minimally on the flag’s parrot.
• Organic items that display a purple colour generally contain the chemical anthocyanin, that helps to protect leaves from light damage, and the chemical also contains antioxidants.
• Purple is not located on the light spectrum, due to it being made from a combination of red and blue, while violet, the closest colour in appearance, is at the lowest end of the spectrum.
• Notable shades of purple include mauve, violet, orchid, and mulberry.

Bibliography:
Purple, 2015, Color Matters, http://www.colormatters.com/the-meanings-of-colors/purple

Purple, 2015, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purple

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What does green mean to you?

• Green is a colour found between yellow and blue on the visual spectrum with a wavelength of 495 to 570 nanometres (nm), and it has the hex code #00FF00 and RGB code (0,255,0).
• Along with red and blue, green is among the three primary colours of light in the RGB colour model, and it is made by yellow and blue pigments in the RYB colour wheel.
• ‘Green’ derives from the word ‘grene’ of Old English and ‘groene’ of Northumbrian origin, from the Germanic word ‘gronja’, and these words were used in reference to the nature or colour of living things like plants and grass.
• Common shades of green include olive, apple, lime, jade, emerald, aqua, avocado and turquoise, and it is the colour with the most individual shades.
• Green pigment was not commonly used in ancient cave paintings or the dyeing of clothes, as good sources were not readily available from plants or minerals, although malachite was used for painting murals by Ancient Egyptians, while clothes were dyed with mixture of yellow and blue plant dyes to obtain the colour required.

• Green has been used to represent life, growth, youth, jealousy, rebirth, fertility, luck, plants, poison, love and safety.
• Green is one of the most appealing colours to look at, second to blue, as it is less harsh to human eyes.
• Limes, ferns, avocados, olives, leaves, lawns and moss are typically coloured green, while some birds, frogs, reptiles and insects are also primarily this colour.
• The Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese and Thai languages have all had, or still have, an identical word for ‘green’ and ‘blue’.
• Flavin, hemanovadin, chlorophyll, porphyrin and turacoverdin are all examples of chemicals that naturally make objects appear green, particularly in animals and vegetation.

Bibliography:
Green, 2015, Color Matters, http://www.colormatters.com/the-meanings-of-colors/green

Green, 2015, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green

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Caution! Don’t ignore yellow!

• Yellow is a colour located on the visible spectrum between orange and green, that has a wavelength of 520 to 590 nanometres (nm), as well as having the hex code #FFFF00 and the RGB value (255, 255, 0).
• Yellow is among the three primary colours of pigments, shown in the RYB colour wheel, and in light it can be made with green and red in the RGB spectrum.
• Yellow comes from the terms ‘geolu’ and ‘geolwe’, which both are from Old English, which in turn is derived from the Germanic ‘gelwaz’.
• Natural pigments of a yellow colour can be made from ochre, saffron, turmeric and Garcinia tree resin; and many other minerals have proven toxic, including crocoite which contains lead, while the synthetic chemical tartrazine is commonly used today.
• The colour yellow appears often in nature, and can be seen in fruit like lemons, flowers like sunflowers, and animals including tigers, giraffes, some reptiles and fish, insects like bees and butterflies, and birds including canaries and ducklings.

• Yellow can be highly symbolic, representing gold, gods, caution, warmth, courage, happiness and sunshine.
• Numerous natural objects coloured yellow, including egg yolk, daffodils and bananas, contain carotenoid pigments; while other objects commonly coloured in this colour include rubber ducks, some forms of road machinery, and in some regions taxis and buses.
• Black alters yellow shades most dramatically and most unpleasantly of all colours, with only small mixes making unattractive colours.
• Shades of yellow include mustard, cream, gold, amber, maize, goldenrod, straw, saffron, and lemon, and shades of hair in this colour are usually called ‘blonde’ or ‘golden’.
• Yellow is the first colour to be recognised visually, hence it being used on warning signs, and contrary to popular belief, a room in this colour does not make a baby cry more.

Bibliography:
Yellow, 2015, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow

Yellow, n.d, Color Matters, http://www.colormatters.com/the-meanings-of-colors/yellow

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Do you like to relax in the blue?

• Blue is a colour with a wavelength of 450 to 495 nanometres (nm), that sits on the visible spectrum between green and violet, and it has the hex code #0000FF and the RGB value (0, 0, 255).
• Blue is among both the three primary colours of light, as in the RGB colour model, and pigments, as seen in the field of art, depicted in the RYB colour wheel.
• The words ‘bleu’ and ‘blwe’ are the Old French and English words from where the term ‘blue’ originates, and these come from the Proto-Germanic word ‘blæwaz’.
• Common shades of blue include navy, ultramarine, sky, turquoise, cobalt, cyan, indigo, azure and teal.
• Natural blue pigments are made from lapis lazuli, azurite, cobalt, or plants such as indigo (Indigofera tinctoria) or woad (Isatis tinctoria), and fabricated versions became available by the 1800s, while in the 1900s, most natural pigments of the colour were replaced with synthetically produced versions.

• When viewing items at distance, they will usually look more blue to the human eye, and the colour is commonly used to give depth in art, as it appears to be further away than other colours.
• Depending on the shade in question, blue can be used to symbolise trust, intelligence, loyalty, coolness, harmony, infinity and peace.
• The sky and bodies of water appear blue, as well as the eyes of approximately 8% of all humans, and some flowers, birds, butterflies, and sea animals, and a small quantity of land creatures also feature the colour, although it is not as common as some hues.
• Most likely due to its calm appealing nature, blue has been listed as the world’s most favourite colour.
• The colour blue has the ability to bring out or create emotions when used correctly, and this tactic was used by artists in the 1900s.

Bibliography:
Blue, 2015, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue

Blue, 2015, Color Matters, http://www.colormatters.com/the-meanings-of-colors/blue

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What do cherries, lobsters and blood have in common? They’re all red!

• Red is a colour that sits on one edge of the visible spectrum and it has the longest wavelength at 620 to 740 nanometres (nm), and is known under the hex code as #FF0000 and has the RGB value (255, 0, 0).
• Red features as one of the three primary or basis colours in terms of light, as in the RGB colour model, as well as art, as represented in the RYB colour wheel.
• Shades of red range from a light pink to a dark maroon, and other common shades include crimson, scarlet, vermilion and burgundy.
• Dyes used to colour objects red have been derived from rocks containing high quantities of iron oxide including ochre, plants like madder, and the crushing of certain insects like cochineals.
• Besides humans, primates are among the very few groups of animals that can detect the colour red.

• Red is associated with a multitude of symbolism, with themes including blood, courage, power, love, happiness, warning, anger, war and passion.
• Red is one of the most common colours to be used on country flags, with over 77% of flags featuring the colour, which commonly symbolises sacrifice and bravery.
• One’s eye is attracted to the colour red more than any other colour except yellow, and it is said that the colour appears to move forward, which causes the colour to stand out among others.
• Red is considered one of the most important colours throughout most civilisations, and some leaves, fruit, flowers, birds, insects, reptiles and amphibians feature the colour.
• As many as 8% of men and 0.5% of women suffer from red-green colour blindness, which causes the colour red to appear differently.

Bibliography:
Red, 2015, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red

Red, n.d, Color Matters, http://www.colormatters.com/the-meanings-of-colors/red

Robson D, How the Colour Red Warps the Mind, 2014, BBC, http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20140827-how-the-colour-red-warps-the-mind

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