Grey
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2008-07-16T09:25:14Z
Keraunos
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Finish putting in alphabetical order (in human culture section).
:''This article is about the color. For other uses, see [[Grey (disambiguation)]] and [[Gray (disambiguation)]].''
{{redirect|Achromatic}}
{{infobox color|textcolor=white|
title=Grey/Gray|
spelling=color|
pic=Image:Color icon gray.svg|
symbolism=[[boredom]], [[reality]], [[serious]]ness, [[neutrality]], and [[mediocre|mediocrity]]|
hex= 808080 |
r=128|g=128|b=128|rgbspace=[[sRGB color space|sRGB]]|
source=[[Web colors#HTML color names|HTML/CSS]]<ref name="css3-color">[http://www.w3.org/TR/css3-color/#html4 W3C TR CSS3 Color Module, HTML4 color keywords]</ref>
<!--c=0|m= 0|y= 0|k= 50|
h=-|s=0|v=50-->
}}
'''Grey''' or '''gray''' (see [[American and British English spelling differences#Miscellaneous spelling differences|spelling differences]]) describes the [[tints and shades|tints and shades]] ranging from [[black]] and [[white]]. These, including white and black, are known as '''achromatic colors''' or '''neutral colors'''. In recent years, "neutral colors" had been reclassified. These "new" neutrals have low [[colorfulness]] and/or chroma on the color wheel.
Greys are seen commonly in nature and fashion. Grey paints can be created by mixing [[complementary color]]s (that is colors directly opposite on the color wheel, e.g. yellow and [[violet (color)|violet]]). In the [[RGB color model]] used by computer displays, it is created by mixing equal amounts of red, green, and blue light. Images which consist wholly of neutral colors are called [[monochrome]], [[black-and-white]] or [[grayscale|greyscale]].
== In color theory ==
Most grey [[pigment]]s have a cool or warm cast to them, as the [[human]] [[eye]] can detect even a minute amount of saturation.{{Fact|date=September 2007}}<!-- which "grey pigments"? --> Yellow, orange and red create a "warm grey". Green, blue, or purple, create a "cool grey".<ref>[http://www.atmos.washington.edu/gcg/SV.man/sv.743colpal.html Color Palette<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> When there is no cast at all, it is referred to as "neutral grey" or simply "grey".
{| style="border:1px solid #aaaaaa; background-color:#ffffff; padding:5px; font-size:95%; margin: 0px 12px 12px 0px;" | right |
|- align=center
|colspan=2|[[Image:grays.svg|310px]]
|- align=center
||'''WARM GREY'''
||'''COOL GREY'''
|- align=center
||Mixed with 6% yellow.
||Mixed with 6% blue.
|}
Two colors are called [[complementary color]]s if grey is produced when they are combined. Grey is its own complement. Consequently, grey remains grey when its color spectrum is inverted, and so has no opposite, or alternately is its own opposite.
[[Artist]]s sometimes use the two different [[spelling]]s to distinguish between strict combinations of black and white versus combinations that have elements of [[hue]].{{Fact|date=August 2007}}
==Web colors ==
There are several shades of grey available for use with [[HTML]] and [[Cascading Style Sheets|CSS]] in [[word]] form, while there are 254 true greys available through [[Hex triplet]]. All are spelled with an '''a''': using the '''e''' spelling can cause unexpected errors with outdated browsers (this discrepancy was inherited from the [[X11 color names|X11 color list]]), and to this day, [[Internet Explorer]]'s [[Trident (layout engine)|Trident browser engine]] does not recognize "grey" and will not render it. Another anomaly is that "gray" is in fact much darker than the X11 color marked "darkgray;" this is because of a conflict with the original HTML gray and the X11's "gray," which is closer to HTML's "silver." The three "slategray" colors are not themselves on the greyscale, but are slightly [[saturation (color theory)|saturated]] towards [[cyan]] (green + blue). Note that since there are an even (256, including black and white) number of [[Saturation (color theory)|unsaturated]] shades of grey, there are actually two grey tones straddling the [[midpoint]] in the 8-bit [[grayscale]]. The color name "gray" has been assigned the lighter of the two shades (128 also known as #808080), due to rounding up. In browsers that support it, "grey" has the same color as "gray."
{| border="1" align="center"
|-
|
{|
!<u>HTML Color Name</u>
!Sample
!
!<u>Hex triplet</u>
|-
|
| <small>(rendered by name)</small>
| <small>(rendered by hex triplet)</small>
|-
| lightgray
| style="background-color:lightgrey;" |
| style="background-color:#D3D3D3;" |
| #D3D3D3
|-
| gray
| style="background-color:gray;" |
| style="background-color:#808080;" |
| #808080
|-
| darkgray
| style="background-color:darkgray;" |
| style="background-color:#A9A9A9;" |
| #A9A9A9
|-
| dimgray
| style="background-color:dimgray;" |
| style="background-color:#696969;" |
| #696969
|-
| lightslategray
| style="background-color:lightslategray;" |
| style="background-color:#778899;" |
| #77'''8899'''
|-
| slategray
| style="background-color:slategray;" |
| style="background-color:#708090;" |
| #70'''8090'''
|-
| darkslategray
| style="background-color:darkslategray;" |
| style="background-color:#2F4F4F;" |
| #2F'''4F4F'''
|}
|}
== Color coordinates ==
; [[RGB]]
: Grey values result when ''r'' = ''g'' = ''b'', for the color (''r'', ''g'', ''b'')
;[[CMYK]]
: Grey values are produced by ''c'' = ''m'' = ''y'' = 0, for the color (''c'', ''m'', ''y'', ''k''). Lightness is adjusted by varying ''k''. In theory, any mixture where ''c'' = ''m'' = ''y'' is neutral, but in practice such mixtures are often a muddy brown (see [[CMYK#Why black ink is used]]).
;[[HSL and HSV|HSL_and_HSV]] :
:Greys result whenever ''s'' is 0 or undefined, as is the case when ''v'' is 0 or ''l'' is 0 or 1
== In human culture ==
[[Image:Ammonitenmauer Laibaroes.jpg|thumb|right|200px]]
{{Refimprove|section|date=March 2008}}
{{Prose|section|date=March 2008}}
[[Image:Powerlines Over Fields Erzhausen.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Grey weather]]
'''[[Environmentalism]]'''
* ''Greys'' has been used [[pejorative]]ly by [[environmentalist]]s to describe [[technophile]]s as being those who like [[granite]], [[concrete]] and other [[city]] materials, as opposed to the term "[[green]]s" to describe those in favor of [[environmentalism]].
'''[[Ethics]]'''
* In a moral sense grey is either used
** pejoratively to describe situations that have no clear moral value, or
** [[positive]]ly to balance an all-black or all-white view (for example, shades of grey represent magnitudes of good and bad).
'''[[Film]]'''
* ''[[Gray Lady Down]]'', an [[action film]] about a stranded [[submarine]].
'''[[Folklore]]'''
* In [[folklore]], grey is often associated with [[goblin]] folk of several kinds. [[Scandinavia]]n folklore often depicts their [[gnome]]s and [[nisse]]r in grey clothing. This is partly because of their association with [[dusk]], partly because these races, including [[elves]] (see below), often are outside moral standards (black or white).
'''[[Gerontology]]'''
* Aging [[hair]] is often perceived as being grey although it is actually white, because white hairs next to other colors look comparatively darker. Hence grey is associated with the elderly, and has inspired the name of the [[Gray Panthers]] and expressions such as [[Grey pound]].
* Hence the inspiration for the song ''[[The Old Gray Mare]]'', and [[pun]]ning reference such as the [[Bugs Bunny]] cartoon with the double-play-on-words title ''[[The Old Grey Hare]]''.
'''[[Journalism]]'''
* The "[[Grey Lady]]" is the nickname of the ''[[New York Times]]''
'''[[Literature]]'''
* In [[J. R. R. Tolkien]]'s works:
** [[Gandalf]] is called the Grey [[Pilgrim]].
** The [[Grey Havens]]
** The [[Sindar|Grey Elves]]
** [[Ered Mithrin]], the Grey [[Mountain]]s. Tolkien chose grey from folklore tradition mentioned above.
** The [[Noldor]] and the [[Dúnedain]] typically have grey eyes.
* Rand al'Thor of Robert Jordan's ''[[Wheel of Time]]'' is described as having grey eyes.
* In the series ''The [[T*Witches]]'', those of [[magic]]al power are described as having grey eyes.
* In [[Michael Ende]]'s ''[[Momo]]'', the ''men in grey'' are malicious [[spirit]]s who prey on people's time and trick them into "saving" it.
* In [[Don DeLillo]]'s 1985 novel ''[[White Noise]]'', the inventor of [[Dylar]] is at first only referred to as Mr. Gray.
* [[Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser]] are two seminal [[sword-and-sorcery]] [[fantasy]] heroes created by [[Fritz Leiber]].
* The Brenin Llwyd, the [[eponym]]ous antagonist of [[The Grey King]], by [[Susan Cooper]].
* ''[[The Picture of Dorian Gray]]'', by [[Oscar Wilde]]
'''[[Military]]'''
* In the [[American Civil War]], [[Confederate Army]] [[uniform]]s were grey, and the war was sometimes called "The Blue and the Gray".
* [[Military_camouflage#Ship_camouflage|Naval camouflage]] using shades of grey were used during the [[World Wars]] because of advances in [[Naval Warfare]].
* [[Feldgrau]] (field grey) was a common color of [[Wehrmacht]] uniforms.
* Urban [[camouflage]] is composed of patches of shades of grey, while woodland camouflage uses ranges of [[brown]] and [[green]].
'''[[Music]]'''
* A purposely nonsensical line in [[Paul Simon]]'s song "I Do It For Your Love": "We were married / On a rainy day / The sky was [[yellow]] / And the [[grass]] was gray."
* A song from ''[[The Kinks]]'' ''[[Muswell Hillbillies]]'' [[album]] is titled ''Here Come the People in Grey''.
'''[[Nanotechnology]]'''
* [[Grey goo]] is to a hypothetical [[End of civilization|end-of-the-world]] scenario involving [[molecular nanotechnology]] in which out-of-control [[self replication|self-replicating]] [[robots]] consume all living matter on [[Earth]] while building more of themselves (a scenario known as [[ecophagy]]).<ref>{{cite press release| url=http://www.crnano.org/PR-IOP.htm| date=June 9, 2004| title=Leading nanotech experts put 'grey goo' in perspective| publisher=Center for Responsible Nanotechnology| accessdate=2006-06-17}}</ref>
'''[[Nazi Germany]]'''
* [[Martin Bormann]] was called the [[grey eminence]] because as the [[secretary|executive secretary]] to [[Adolf Hitler]], he amassed great power behind the scene because he was the one who controlled access to the [[Führer]]. <ref> [http://hitlernews.cloudworth.com/death-of-leading-nazis/death-of-martin-bormann.html Martin Bormann—The Grey Eminence:]</ref> The phrase originated as a description of [[François Leclerc du Tremblay]], the French monk who served as advisor to [[Cardinal de Richelieu]].
'''[[Neurology]]'''
* The substance that composes the [[brain]] is referred to as "grey matter", and so the color is associated with things [[intellectual]].
* Grey is associated with former [[British Prime Minister]] [[John Major]]. His puppet on ''[[Spitting Image]]'' was entirely grey implying that he was incredibly dull.
'''[[Parapsychology]]'''
* It has been asserted that those who are suffering from the [[mental illness]] of [[Clinical depression|depression]] have grey [[aura (paranormal)|aura]]s.<ref> Arthur E. Powell ''The Astral Body and Other Astral Phenomenon'' Wheaton, Illinois:1927—Theosophical Publishing House Page 12 </ref>
'''[[Party|Parties]]'''
* A "grey person" is someone who goes unnoticed, a [[wallflower (people)|wallflower]].
'''[[Psychology]]'''
* Grey is often synonymous with things that are dull and boring
* Grey represents [[pessimism]] whereas its opposite, [[optimism]], is represented by the color [[Rose (color)|rose]].
* A concept that is in a [[Grey area]] is a concept about which one is unsure what [[category]] in which to place it.
'''[[Religion]]'''
* In the [[Christian]] [[religion]], grey is the color of [[ash]]es, and so a [[Bible|biblical]] symbol of [[mourning]] and [[repentance]], described as [[mortification of the flesh|sackcloth and ashes]]. It can be used during [[Lent]] or on special days of [[fasting]] and [[prayer]].
'''[[Human sexuality|Sexuality]]'''
* In the [[bandana code]] of the [[gay]] [[leather subculture]], wearing a grey [[bandana]] means that one is into the [[Sexual fetish|fetish]] of [[Bondage (BDSM)|bondage]].
* In [[gay slang]], a ''grey queen'' is a gay person who works for the [[financial services]] industry (this term originates from the fact that in the [[1950]]s, people who worked in this [[profession]] often wore grey [[flannel suit]]s).<ref> Rodgers, Bruce ''Gay Talk (The Queen’s Vernacular): A Dictionary of Gay Slang'' New York:1972 Paragon Books, an imprint of G.P. Putnam’s Sons Page 99 </ref>
'''[[Sociology]]'''
* Grey symbolizes [[mediocrity]], the [[background noise]] of [[society]].
[[Image:Cigarette ash.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Cigarette ash]]
'''[[Sound Engineering]]'''
* [[Grey noise]] is [[random noise]] subjected to a [[psychoacoustic]] [[equal loudness curve]] (such as an ''inverted'' [[A-weighting]] curve) over a given range of frequencies, giving the listener the perception that it is equally loud at all frequencies.
'''[[Sports]]'''
* There was once an [[American football]] bowl game featuring a northern squad vs. a southern squad, and known as the [[Blue-Gray Football Classic|Blue-Gray Game]].
* In [[baseball]], grey is the color typically used for road uniforms.
'''[[Television]]'''
* The Grey Council consists of the nine leaders of the [[Minbari]] in the [[Babylon 5]] [[Fictional universe|universe]].
* Grey's Anatomy is a popular drama tv series. This name is derived from the anatomy textbook [[Gray's Anatomy]]
'''[[UFO]]s'''
* In popular [[UFO conspiracy theory|UFO conspiracy theories]] and in [[science-fiction]], small grey [[Extraterrestrial life in popular culture|aliens]], with large, tear-shaped black eyes are referred to as "little [[greys]]".
'''[[Video Games]]'''
* [[Grey Knights]], a unit in Warhammer 40,000 universe.
==References==
<references/>
==See also==
* [[List of colors]]
* [[Payne's grey]]
* [[Davy's grey]]
* [[Grisaille]]
* [[Black and White Photography]]
==External links==
*[http://compbiol.plosjournals.org/perlserv/?request=get-document&doi=10.1371/journal.pcbi.0030179 Three computational biologists’ theory to explain how humans perceive achromatic colors:]
* [http://www.csulb.edu/~percept/kyotocolor.html Chart showing a comparison of the achromatic (grey scale) values of the colors on the RYB and RGB color wheels, respectively (the chart is halfway down the webpage):]
{{web colors}}
{{Shades of grey|*}}
[[ar:رمادي (لون)]]
[[an:Griso]]
[[gn:Hũngy]]
[[ay:Uqi]]
[[map-bms:Abu-Abu]]
[[ba:Һоро]]
[[be:Шэры колер]]
[[ca:Gris]]
[[cs:Šedá]]
[[da:Grå]]
[[pdc:Groh]]
[[de:Grau]]
[[el:Γκρι]]
[[es:Gris]]
[[eo:Griza]]
[[eu:Gris]]
[[fa:خاکستری]]
[[fr:Gris]]
[[ko:회색]]
[[id:Abu-abu]]
[[it:Grigio]]
[[he:אפור]]
[[ht:Gri]]
[[la:Canus]]
[[lb:Gro]]
[[lt:Pilka]]
[[ms:Kelabu]]
[[nah:Nextic]]
[[nl:Grijs]]
[[ja:灰色]]
[[ce:Сира]]
[[no:Grå]]
[[nn:Grå]]
[[nrm:Gris]]
[[pl:Szary]]
[[pt:Cinza]]
[[ro:Gri]]
[[qu:Uqi]]
[[ru:Серый цвет]]
[[simple:Gray]]
[[sk:Sivá]]
[[fi:Harmaa]]
[[sv:Grå]]
[[th:สีเทา]]
[[vi:Xám]]
[[tr:Gri]]
[[uk:Сірий колір]]
[[zh:灰色]]